Culture centre work to begin

WORK on a multi-million-pound cultural centre in the Lothians is to get under way in the spring.

The move follows the award of a 3.7 million contract by East Lothian Council to create the John Gray Centre in Haddington, a facility which will house a library, the East Lothian local history centre, a museum and exhibition space, and the county's archives.

The centre, to be completed in 2011, is planned for the three-storey Sinclair McGill Building on the town's Lodge Street.

Councillor Paul McLennan, the council's community services spokesman, said: "The John Gray Centre brings together established council services, such as the branch library for Haddington, with new heritage facilities."