A total of 48 people will be made compulsorily redundant by the National Trust for Scotland, but the charity says new roles are being created

A restructure at Scotland’s conservation charity has seen more than 70 jobs axed.

The roles are set to be cut by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), as it moves to a new operational structure.

A total of 48 people have been made compulsorily redundant, and further 25 workers have accepted voluntary redundancy.

The charity has said that 70 new roles are being proposed as part of the restructure, and those who have lost their jobs will be given first refusal on the new posts.

The charity is moving to a new business structure where management of its heritage properties will be split between six regional teams.

Patrick Duffy, chief operating officer of the trust, said: “Although there will be redundancies and we are very sensitive to the needs of those affected, there is also a very positive outcome in that so many new roles are being created.

“Each affected person effectively has two potential opportunities to find a new place within the trust. We will be encouraging as many people as possible to apply once recruitment gets under way and giving all the support we can in the process.”

The changes are part of continuing plans by the trust to improve its visitor services and free up funding for conservation projects.

This is the latest stage of charity’s restructuring which began with its Edinburgh-based headquarters in 2016. The trust has seen record membership in the last two years, at 380,000 members, and a third successive year of visitor growth to over three million visitors.

A consultation on the proposals was held in January, with the Prospect union criticising the trust’s approach to the consultation but welcoming a new pay grading model.