They say that east never goes west, but my family did. My present region of the Highlands and Islands encapsulates so much of the very best of Scotland's historic built environment, from the globally important neolithic magic of Skara Brae and Maeshowe in Orkney, to the French-renaissance-meets-Scots-baronial splendour of Dunrobin castle in Sutherland. There is also the emotive romanticism of Eilean Donan castle, which is surely one of the most photographed castles in world; the unusual combination of baroque, Palladian and Gothic architecture in Inveraray castle in my native Argyll and Bute; the ruined Kilchurn castle on Loch Awe; Castle Tioram at Acharacle; and Urquhart castle on Loch Ness. There are, of course, many more. Above all that, however, Scotland also has a wonderfully high concentration of Adam houses, which I believe makes us internationally important.

Rob Gibson: The member mentioned in passing Dunrobin castle, which is well preserved by the family that owns it. Does the member think that the clearances villages that were created by the policies of such people's ancestors should be preserved?

Jamie McGrigor: My colleague Jamie Stone mentioned Tain museum, which I believe is a museum to the clearances. Of course, that was one of the Lib Dem's original social engineering experiments.

I was talking about Adam houses. We have many of them, despite the fact that, as one of my Argyll constituents says,
"nearly 50 per cent of Robert Adam's buildings in Scotland, the nation's greatest architect, have been destroyed in the last 100 years, including several of his masterpieces. Destroyed of course by the stupidity of politicians and local councillors. I hope this will make a few people sit up and realise how precious and how threatened our built heritage is!"

I know that the Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution will be aware of that, but what about his colleagues?

As an aside, let me say that I am delighted that interest in William and Robert Adam remains so great. Tonight sees the launch of Roderick Graham's new biography of Robert Adam, which is being published by the excellent Edinburgh publisher Birlinn. I wish the book well.

In preparing for today's debate, I was contacted by a lady constituent who has huge experience in the historic houses sector. She agreed with the debate title, that our historic environment is a "Unique Resource for Our Economy", but she pointed out that the historic environment can also be expensive to look after. As others have mentioned, we need only consider the recent funding woes of the National Trust for Scotland to see a powerful demonstration of that point.

Notwithstanding the mostly good work of the National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland, it remains the case that the private ownership of much of Scotland's heritage—two thirds is the figure that is usually quoted—is a cost-effective way of preserving the nation's heritage without ruining the public purse. Of course, private owners need to make things work. Many of them use their houses for all sorts of things, from venues for music and dancing events to much smaller-scale niche-marketing opportunities, such as weddings, concerts, up-market accommodation, sporting lets and educational activities. Sadly, the people who work at the coalface trying to make our historic houses function on a financially viable basis say that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to operate due to burdensome regulations—such as licensing laws—that are simply not designed for smaller, part-time businesses. The expert on historic houses that I mentioned warns that, unless excessive and costly regulations and bureaucracy are checked, fewer privately owned houses will have a future involving public use so there will be more calls on public funding as a last resort.

On the issue of the National Trust for Scotland, I was pleased to be involved in the successful campaign to prevent the closure of Arduaine garden, which is a key part of Argyll's historic environment. I pay tribute to all those who fought so hard to preserve the garden, including the friends of Arduaine and the various generous benefactors who donated money to secure the garden's future. My constituents want to see that world-class garden being promoted as effectively as possible. Indeed, one constituent suggested to me yesterday that a specific heritage body should exist to promote Scotland's wonderful gardens. I would be interested to hear the minister's view on that. Horticultural tourism surely has the potential to be a real growth area.

While I am on the subject of Argyll and important tourist facilities, I have been asked to voice the concern of constituents about council plans to remove business signs on the A85 and A828 trunk roads. Many of those signs are for historic environment businesses. There are real worries that removing the signs could seriously harm some 30 local businesses in Argyll. That should not be happening, especially in the middle of a recession and under a Scottish Government that seeks a 50 per cent increase in tourism.

Although this is outside my region, I was asked at a recent reception in Parliament by a lady from Kinross to highlight the appalling plight of that town. Kinross is a fine old county town whose 16th century heart features a clock steeple, a mercat cross, a fountain, an 18th century county building designed by Robert Adam as well as a fine early 19th century county building and high school. The town is a conservation area, but that has not prevented it from being neglected by Perth and Kinross Council, which now owns all the buildings concerned. Quite rightly, the lady wants to know, "What is the overall strategy to preserve the historic stone buildings of Kinross?"

I am sure that the same question could be asked of so many of our smaller towns and villages. Recently, the enthusiasm and energy of the architect John McAslan have restored the historic burgh hall in Dunoon. That effort should be recognised and followed by our leaders in Scotland. Each place has its own gem. Look at Rennie Mackintosh's wonderful Hill house in Helensburgh. Look at Scotland's other Edwardian houses whose interiors were created by architects such as Lorimer.

I conclude by emphasising just how culturally and economically important our built and historic environment is to my region and to the whole country. It underpins to a massive extent the £1 billion that we take in from our tourism sector and all the associated jobs that go with that, which are often vital in some of our more remote and rural communities. I am pleased that the minister recognises the enthusiasm, passion and co-operation that exist in the sector; the Scottish Conservatives recognise it, too.

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