Highland Historic Buildings Trust (HHBT) will transfer its operations to Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) from 14 November 2025, bringing together 40 years of Highland conservation experience with Scotland's nationwide building preservation charity, SHBT.
The integration into SHBT will allow HHBT's important legacy of successful building restoration to continue. HHBT’s noted achievements includestabilisation works to the Chapel of the Sand of Udrigil overlooking Gruinard Bay to the full restoration of Forss Mill in Caithness, and the Easter Ross Churches Trail, which SHBT will continue to support.SHBT has also undertaken projects in the Highlands, completing the restoration of Strathpeffer Pavillion in 2004 and more recently working with third sector organisations on the future on the Laidhay Croft Museum in Caithness.
However, the need for dedicated historic building preservation activity in the Highlands not only remains great butis on the rise. The shared ambition is that the Highlands can nowbenefit from SHBT's growing fundraising and project delivery capacity and technical resources, while retaining the local knowledge and community relationships that have defined HHBT's approach across the region.
Alexander Bennett, Vice Chair of HHBT, said:"Highland Historic Buildings Trust has, over the last 40 years, restored, influenced, collaborated and advised many communities and organisations with 'problem' buildings with important historic heritage value. We have been able to restore many buildings and, most notably, the Old Sail Loft and Commercial Hotel in Stornoway, a category A Listed building, where we were able to bring the building back to life in collaboration with the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) for residential accommodation and public space, and it will feature in the AHF's 50th Anniversary travelling exhibition next year.
“However, the funding of these projects was never straightforward and with a change of rules for most public grant givers, we found ourselves lacking in financial and human resources. After a few years of contemplating our future, we have decided that the most effective way to continue this work is through collaboration with another 'like-minded' organisation, Scottish Historic Building Trust. With HHBT joining SHBT, we have the confidence that there is a bright future for our charitable mission in the Highlands.".
The newly created SHBT Highland Working Group will prioritise three challengesmade acute in the Highlands: identifying buildings at risk in remote areas and town centres, how to fund and recruit staff based in the region, and how best to support organisations and communities either taking on historic building regeneration projects or struggling with the maintenance and development of historic buildings in their care.
To support this work,a strategic review of at-risk buildings across the region will begin before Christmas.
Dr Samuel Gallacher, SHBT’s Director, said:"The Highlands has some of Scotland's most remarkable historic buildings, often in places where getting the right expertise and funding has always been difficult, yet where restoration, even on a small scale, can have a big social and economic impact. HHBT has spent forty years proving these buildings can be saved when you combine local knowledge, partnership working, and specialist skills with acommon purpose.
“By working together, we can take on bigger and more complex challenges, whether that's a Category A church that needs half a million pounds of work, or training the next generation of skilled specialists.The buildings are there, the communities want to see them thrive, and now, through bringing HHBT into SHBT, we have a great opportunity in making that happen through an approach thatempowers communities and ourselves to take onmore historic building restoration projects."
Scottish Historic Buildings Trust is inviting community organisations, fundraisers, political figures, and building owners to help shape the future of built heritage in the Highlands. Share your ideas, challenges, and opportunities by completing our Expression of Interest form at https://mailchi.mp/shbt.org.uk/highland to help ensure that historic buildings in the region can serve and inspire in this new chapter, and for generations to come.
Offers of funding and donations of any amount to support SHBT’s work in the Highlands are much appreciated and can be made through this link: https://donate.mydona.com/scottish-historic-buildings. Please email millie@shbt.org.uk for more information on how you can support SHBT and its future works.