A LIST of historic sites which need attention has been flagged up by an MSP.
South Scotland’s Colin Smyth welcomed the start of essential conservation repairs at Caerlaverock Castle
But he now wants to see similar works undertaken on the many other properties in the region which are currently on Historic Environment Scotland’s ‘closed list’.
These include Cardoness Castle, MacLellan’s Castle, Orchardton Tower, St Ninian’s Cave, Glenluce Abbey and Threave Castle.
He further pointed out that Sweetheart Abbey, Carsluith Castle and Whithorn Priory (pictured) also currently have visitor restrictions on certain parts of the sites.
Mr Smyth said: “I fully understand that public safety is of the utmost importance and we can’t have people visiting places which are potentially unsafe.
“That being said, tourism is extremely importance to our local economy and having these fascinating sites fully open to the public would make a big difference.
“I recently met with Historic Environment Scotland to express my concern at the slow pace in fully re-opening sites across our region, which has been impacted more than anywhere in Scotland. HES and the Scottish Government need to put in place some serious plans to bring these buildings back to a safe state so we can welcome more visitors to our fantastic region.”
