Terms of Website Use

1    These terms and conditions of use (“terms of use”)

1.1    What these terms of use cover. These are the terms and conditions on which we operate our website ncap.org and any subdomain of this website(e.g. airphotofinder.ncap.org)  (together the “Website”). Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using the Website.
1.2    Acceptance of our terms of use. By using the Website, you confirm that you accept these terms of use and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these terms of use, you must not use the Website. We recommend that you keep a copy of these terms of use for future reference.
1.3    Amendments to our terms of use. We amend these terms of use from time to time. Every time you wish to use the Website, please check these terms of use to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time. 
These terms of use were last updated on 26 August 2026. 

2    Who we are and how to contact us

2.1    Who we are. “NCAP” is a brand of Historic Environment Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland (“HES”) is an executive non-departmental public body, incorporated and established under the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014, being a registered charity (Scottish Charity number SC045925) and having our principal office at Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh, EH9 1SH. Our registered VAT number is GB221868015.
In these terms, “we” and “us” means Historic Environment Scotland.
2.2    How to contact us. If you would like to contact us about the Website, please email ncap@hes.scot or telephone +44(0)131 651 6821. Details about our core office hours are found here: Contact Us.

3    There are other terms that may apply to you

3.1    In addition to these terms of use, the following terms also apply to your use of the Website:-
3.1.1    Our Privacy Notice, which sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us. 
3.1.2    Our Cookie Notice, which sets out information about the cookies on the Website.
3.1.3    Our Terms of Sale, which set out information about the purchase of licences (of digital images and other digital materials or data) from the Website 

4    We may make changes to the Website

We may update and change the Website from time to time to reflect changes to our products, our users' needs and our business priorities.

5    We may suspend or withdraw the Website

5.1    The Website is made available free of charge.
5.2    We do not guarantee that the Website, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend or withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of the Website for business and operational reasons. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension or withdrawal.
5.3    You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these terms of use and other applicable terms, and that they comply with them.

6    You must keep your account details safe 

6.1    The Website allows you to create a registered user account.
6.2    If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures (in other words, your account details), you must treat such information as confidential. You must not disclose it to any other person and you must not share your account with any other person.
6.3    We have the right to disable any user identification code, account, username or password whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use.
6.4    If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your password, you must promptly notify us using the contact information set out above. 

7    Using material from the Website

7.1    All elements of the Website are protected by copyright, moral rights, trademark and other laws relating to the protection of intellectual property.
7.2    The content available to download through the Website are subject to Crown Copyright, or other Intellectual Property Rights, as indicated. 
7.3    The use of all content downloaded from or obtained through the Website is subject to the licence applying to the particular content. Information on the various licences applying to the Website content can be found on our Licensing pages.
7.4    If you print off, copy, download, share or repost any part of the Website without first obtaining a licence or in breach of the terms of your licence, your right to use the Website will end immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. 

8    No text or data mining or web scraping

8.1    You shall not conduct, facilitate, authorise or permit any text or data mining or web scraping in relation to the Website or any services provided via, or in relation to, the Website for any purpose, including the development, training, fine-tuning or validation of any Artificial Intelligence system or model. This includes using (or permitting, authorising or attempting the use of):
8.1.1    Any "robot", "bot", "spider", "scraper" or other automated device, program, tool, algorithm, code, process or methodology to access, obtain, copy, monitor or republish any portion of the site or any data, content, information or services accessed via the same.
8.1.2    Any automated analytical technique aimed at analysing text and data in digital form to generate information or develop, train, fine-tune or validate any Artificial Intelligence systems or models, which includes but is not limited to patterns, trends and correlations.
8.2    You shall not use, and we do not consent to the use of, the Website, or any data published by, or contained in, or accessible via, the Website or any services provided via, or in relation to, the Website for the purposes of developing, training, fine-tuning or validating any AI system or model.
8.3    This clause shall not apply insofar as (but only to the extent that) we are unable to exclude or limit text or data mining or web scraping activity by contract under the laws which are applicable to us.

9    Information on this Website 

9.1    No warranties or representations of any kind (expressed or implied) are given (and if any such warranties and representations arise by operation of law or otherwise they are hereby disclaimed to the fullest extent permitted by law) in connection with the Website or its content including the completeness, accuracy or appropriateness for a particular purpose. 
9.2    Users of the Website assume full responsibility for using the information and content of the Website and understand and agree that neither Historic Environment Scotland nor any of its trustees or employees are responsible or liable for any claim, loss or damage resulting from its use. 
9.3    Keyword search and map search
9.3.1    The Website search facilities are provided to help users identify records of aerial photography. 
9.3.2    The mapped spatial data provided does not carry any legal status. The data may not be current and it may not represent the legal extent of a site. 
9.3.3    If you intend to rely on a search result, it is your responsibility to check the record as a whole and not rely exclusively on the search function. 
9.3.4    We accept no liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of a reliance on the search function. 

10    We are not responsible for websites that we link to

Where the Website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. Such links should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or information you may obtain from them. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources.

11    How to report content on the Website

11.1    Reporting Content. We act in good faith when making images and material available on the Website. However, we recognise that, from time to time, images or material published on the Website may be in breach of intellectual property laws, contain personal data, or include content that may be regarded as offensive, obscene or defamatory. 
11.2    If you are concerned that you have found content on the Website which:
•    infringes intellectual property rights;
•    contains your personal data;
•    is offensive, obscene or defamatory to you; or 
•    you consider to be illegal or harmful,
11.3    you can report this content by contacting us at the contact details above. Please state in the subject line that it is a ‘Content Report’. 
11.4    In order for us to handle your request, please include the following information:
•    your name, email or mailing address (if sending in the post); 
•    sufficient information, including exact catalogue reference (where applicable), for us to identify the relevant images or material; 
•    your connection to the content (e.g. as the intellectual property rights holder, a representative of the intellectual property rights holder, or as the person to whom the personal data relates;
•    where contacting us in relation to intellectual property infringement, sufficient information to show the ownership of those rights; and
•    the reason for your report. 
11.5    Our response. We will acknowledge receipt of your email or correspondence and provide you with information on what will happen next. A member of staff will be assigned to carry out a review of the relevant content and to come to a decision about whether it is appropriate for the content to be available online. We aim to complete this review and decision-making as soon as possible after receiving your report. You will be informed of the decision and provided with an explanation of the outcome. If you have requested removal or alteration of your personal data then we will respond to your request within the statutory timescale of 30 calendar.
11.6    If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may appeal the decision within 30 days of receipt of our decision via the HES complaints procedure. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, and it relates to your personal data, you may also raise this with the Information Commissioner's Office: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-complaints-complaints/check-if-you-can-complain/.
11.7    Public Interest. As a general rule, images and material published on the Website are considered to be in the public domain (subject to applicable copyright or other intellectual property rights), and will be removed from online public view only in exceptional circumstances and/or where it is legally required to do so. 
11.8    Re-instatement of Content.  Where material is removed, HES reserves the right to reinstate this content where it is legally allowed to do so. This may include obtaining the consent of the rights holder, or reinstating content when an intellectual property right expires or when data ceases to be personal data under UK data protection law.
11.9    We are committed to ensuring that images and materials we hold are preserved and made available for people to use. However, we are also committed to ensuring that material is archived and displayed lawfully.

12    Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you 

12.1    Whether you are a consumer or a business user:
(a)    We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors and for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation. 
(b)    Different limitations and exclusions of liability will apply to liability arising as a result of the supply of any items to you. 
12.2    If you are a business user:
(a)    we exclude all implied conditions, warranties, representations or other terms that may apply to the Website or any content on it; 
(b)    we will not be liable to you for any loss or damage, whether in contract, negligence, breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with use of, or inability to use, the Website or use of or reliance on any content displayed on the Website;  
(c)    in particular, we will not be liable for: 
•    loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue; 
•    business interruption; 
•    loss of anticipated savings; 
•    loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or 
•    any indirect or consequential loss or damage.
12.3    If you are a consumer, please note that we only provide the Website to consumers for domestic and private use. You agree not to use the Website for any commercial or business purposes, and we have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity. 

13    We are not responsible for viruses and you must not introduce them

13.1    We do not guarantee that the Website will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.
13.2    You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access the Website. You should use your own virus protection software. 
13.3    You must not misuse the Website by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Website, the server on which the Website is stored or any server, computer or database connected to the Website. You must not attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use the Website will cease immediately. 

14    Rules about linking to the Website 

14.1    You may link to the Website provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it. 
14.2    You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists. 
14.3    The Website must not be framed on any other website. 
14.4    We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. 
14.5    If you wish to link to the Website other than that set out above, please contact us. 

15    Which country’s laws apply to any disputes? 

15.1    If you are a consumer, please note that these terms of use, their subject matter and their formation, are governed by Scots law. You and we both agree that the courts of Scotland will have exclusive jurisdiction except that if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are resident of England or Wales, you may also bring proceedings in England or Wales.
15.2    If you are a business, these terms of use, their subject matter and their formation (and any non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by Scots law. We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Scotland.

16    Our trade marks are registered

16.1    You are not permitted to use our trade marks without our approval, unless they are part of material you are using as permitted under clause 7 (Using material from the Website).