The Buildings at Risk Register (BARR) was established in 1990 in response to concern at the growing number of listed buildings and buildings in Conservation Areas that were vacant and had fallen into a state of disrepair. The BARR provides information about properties of architectural or historic merit throughout Scotland that are considered to be ‘at risk’. Since 2015, the BARR has been run as an in-house service within Historic Environment Scotland (HES). 

HES commissioned Harlow Consulting to undertake a review of the BARR, focusing on assessing its impact in bringing buildings back in to use to make evidence-based recommendations for its long-term future. 

 The research involved a combination of desk research, internal and external stakeholder interviews, a user survey and follow-up depth interviews, integrated analysis of data from the BARR and from listed building consent applications. This diverse evidence base was synthesised and analysed to understand the level of currency, comprehensiveness, relevance and useability of the register. Comparator research was undertaken to consider related and alternative models for compiling and presenting information on buildings at risk. 

Our report found that there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the BARR has a significant impact in bringing buildings back into use. As a result of our research, HES has therefore taken the decision to pause the BARR in order to consider long-term options for its future.