THE National Galleries of Scotland’s project to extend its headquarters into East Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh with a special gallery for Scottish art has been hit by a delay which could last “several months”, according to the organisers.
Called Celebrating Scotland’s Art, the £18 million project aims to transform the way that the world’s greatest collection of Scottish art is presented at the Scottish National Gallery.
Work on the construction of new Galleries was due to start this month but the National Galleries (NGS) confirmed the delay yesterday. It is due to the works becoming more complex, and therefore more expensive.
In a statement NGS said: “There will now be a delay of several months to the full start on site. For the past six months we have been working with our main contractor Interserve on the detailed designs and various tender packages for the building work.
“It has become clear that some elements around the delivery of the construction work are more complex and potentially more expensive to implement than was originally anticipated.
“We therefore have to carry out some value engineering in the coming months in order to streamline some parts of the construction and bring the plans into line with our budget.
“In practice this means that we will be re-examining some of the specifications and construction methods for aspects of the design to ensure that the project stays within cost. Until this work on value engineering is complete we will not have a confirmed date for the start of construction but we are hopeful that we can begin work on site later this year.”
NGS added: “We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that there is minimal disruption to The Mound precinct during construction work. In the meantime, the Scottish National Gallery remains open as usual and the highlights of the Scottish collection are on display to the public.”
Across the Mound in West Princes Street Gardens, it has emerged that the project to re-develop the Ross Bandstand area could see the building of an underground complex to host year-round events such as concerts and conferences.
The Ross Development Trust – a charity set up by Norman Springford of Apex Hotels – is working with owners Edinburgh Council to refurbish the area in an estimated £25m project.
The main element of the revamped Ross Bandstand area would be a new visitor centre.
David Ellis, Project Director for the Trust, said: “The proposed visitor centre will help improve a number of features within West Princes Street Gardens by utilising the contours of the land to house most of this facility underground therefore minimising its visual impact on the surrounding landscape.
“There are currently catering facilities located next to the Ross Fountain which along with the red blaes area don’t have connotations of garden landscape. By moving these catering facilities into the new visitor centre we are reducing the footprint on the Gardens and freeing up more space which will be returned to Garden landscape.
“One of the main purposes of the visitor centre is to provide better access to the general public. The current access points are either steep paths or staircases which can become very difficult to use in poor conditions.
“The roof of the visitors centre will double as a viewing platform at the same level as Princes Street and allow better viewing of the Gardens and the Castle. It’s important to state that none of the proposed improvements in the Gardens will exceed the height of Princes Street.”
That latter point is made because any permanent development in Princes Street Gardens must not be higher than the existing walls and fences around the gardens as dictated by an Act of Parliament. The National revealed that the development would be constrained by the act and it may require legislation in the Scottish Parliament, which has taken over such matters from Westminster. Ellis said: “With regards to the requirement for the change to the Act of Parliament we are currently in discussion with the Scottish Government through the City of Edinburgh Council to find out exactly what aspects of our plans will require amendments to the act.”
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