Almost £50million needs to be found to safeguard the future of the nation’s best-known landmarks.
The chairman of the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has warned that “some harsh truths” have to be confronted as the charity faces up to the challenge of conserving key heritage sites.
The organisation is aiming to generate the £46million needed by running more fundraising campaigns and attracting more members, as well as increasing revenues from properties.
The money is required over the next decade to maintain the many sites and buildings owned by the trust.
These include Culloden battlefield near Inverness, Glencoe, the Hebridean island of Iona, and Mar Lodge estate in Aberdeenshire.
The estate, in particular, is recognised as one of the most important conservation areas in Britain.
More than 40% of it is protected and of national importance.
Sir Ken Calman, chairman of the National Trust for Scotland, questioned whether it was tenable for voluntary, private and public sectors to care for heritage work in isolation.
“We estimate that the trust alone needs to spend an extra £46million in the next 10 years just to meet our conservation objectives,” he said.
“Yet research shows that the historic environment contributed in excess of £2.3billion to Scotland’s national gross value, and accounted for 2.5% of total employment.
“And this is before we account for improving interpretation and visitor experiences. That is a big ask for an independent charity.”
The money needed has been described as an additional “cost for care” bill, which does not include big projects.
It will be used to allow the NTS to continue to maintain a range of its historic sites and properties – including nature reserves.
The conservation charity currently meets the majority of its costs from its membership base of about 320,000 people, as well as from private donors.
Don’t miss this Saturday’s YL supplement for an exclusive interview with NTS chief executive Kate Mavor on the future of the conservation charity.