PLANS for the build of a new ‘world class’ facility for the Historic Environment (HES) Archive have been given the green light by Midlothian Council.
The project to convert an existing building in the Sherwood Industrial Estate in Bonnyrigg into a new ‘state-of-the-art’ home for the organisation’s extensive records and archives will now progress with the project aiming to complete in 2026.
Morrison Construction Scotland will lead the build, whilst Gleeds will provide project management and cost consultancy, Oberlanders will head the designs, Buro Happold will provide specialist engineering input, and civil structural and geo-environmental services will be led by Curtins.
The facility is aimed to be the first public building to be designed and built implementing the new Scottish Government net zero public sector building standard, in conjunction with Passivhaus EnerPHit standard. This takes into account not only the carbon emissions of the building while in use, but also the carbon emissions associated with the building materials, construction, and maintenance.
Currently housed at John Sinclair House in Edinburgh and other locations across central Scotland, the HES Archive is home to the national archaeological and architectural archive. Holding over 3,500 different collections, comprising drawings, photographs, documents, prints and tomes stretching across 15km of shelving, he new facility will enable these collections to be protected to the highest standards, HES said.
Lesley Ferguson, head of archives at HES, said, “We’re delighted that the plans for a new home for our archive have been granted planning permission, and we can now progress with this hugely important project to ensure our unique archival collections can be protected for future generations.”
