Salmond set to move official home

Civil servants are recommending he moves from his current home at Bute House in the capital’s Charlotte Square to Governor’s House, a grand, 200-year-old castellated residence adjacent to the Scottish Government’s headquarters.

The huge Archibald Elliot-designed mansion, boasting well-appointed entertaining rooms and some of the best views of the city of any property, has long been identified as a potential official home for the First Minister.

Pending the completion of an estate review by officials, it is poised to become the central hub of Scotland’s government.

The move comes after officials carried out a review of Bute House, which has long been in need of renovation work, and concluded they would have to spend a staggering £3.5 million to bring the A-listed Georgian mansion up to scratch. The bill is made up of expenses required to provide disability access and carry out security work.

Governor’s House, which until recently housed the Scottish Government’s multi-media team, is empty and has been identified by officials as a potential option.

It requires renovation itself to provide living accommodation and office space for the First Minister, but officials claim this will be less expensive than the work needed at Bute House.

Any move will end a long association between the government in Scotland and Bute House, and will prompt speculation about the property’s future. The Robert Adam-designed building is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, which will now have to decide how it intends to use it. It recently sold its own headquarters, also in Charlotte Square.

If the switch takes place, it will ensure the focus of devolved power in Scotland is centred firmly in one place, with the First Minister’s residence, the Scottish Government’s headquarters and the Scottish Parliament all close together.

Governor’s House was identified as far back as 1997 as a possible home for the newly created post of First Minister, and was seen then as an ideal place to hold receptions for visiting dignitaries.

However, the then Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar decided in 1998 to plump for Bute House in Charlotte Square, which had long been used as the official residence of the Secretary of State. “I don’t think we want pomp and ceremony”, he said, announcing his decision.

If Mr Salmond does move from there to such an iconic Edinburgh building, it is bound to prompt accusations of empire-building – it comes after the SNP won an overall majority at May’s Holyrood elections.

Consequently, aides were careful to insist last night that the proposals for the move had been prompted by civil servants, not ministers, and that any switch would only go ahead if it was shown to cheaper than converting Bute House.

They also stressed that Governor’s House would require refurbishment whether or not Mr Salmond took it up as his new official home.

In any event, there have long been claims that Bute House is an inadequate base for the First Minister’s operation, having changed little since the days when Willie Ross was the Secretary of State for Scotland in the 1960s and 1970s.

As with the Prime Minister and 10 Downing Street, Mr Salmond lives at his official residence when working in Edinburgh, in an apartment above the first-floor public rooms.

Since 1999, about £600,000 is understood to have been spent refurbishing Bute House. The first major renovation in 1999 involved transforming the building’s former study into the Cabinet Room, complete with new furniture and carpet. New security and fire alarm systems were fitted and a full electrical rewire was also undertaken.

Work was carried out in the four-storey residence in 2006 to upgrade leaky bathrooms that had not been refurbished in four decades.

Bute House currently has inadequate disability access, and in 2008, ministers commissioned a study by conservation architects on further work deemed necessary due to the building’s listed status.

A paper compiled by officials has now concluded that the cost comes in at about £3.5m.

On top of that, the taxpayer is also paying business rates of more than £22,000 a year, as the property is deemed to be a place of work rather than a private residence.

Faced with such a potential bill, it is understood officials decided the maintenance costs for a building which it does not own had to be questioned.

Aides claimed last night that Mr Salmond was personally reluctant to move from Bute House, but the shift to Governor’s House would give him the chance of working “above the shop”, while also positioning him in one of the most highly visible locations in the city, easily seen across the centre of Edinburgh.

Mr Salmond’s spokesman stressed last night that no final decision had yet been made by the First Minister.

He also denied claims that Mr Salmond had long been after a move from Bute House. It follows a raft of stories over the past four years suggesting his discomfort in the property, including suggestions that it worsened his asthma.

However, sources within the Scottish Government say work has already begun on getting Governor’s House ready for Mr Salmond’s move.

The preparations are understood to include proposals to re-glaze the huge windows, from where guests can admire unique views of the city.

A spokesman for the First Minister said: “There is a suggestion from the civil service to use unoccupied space in the St Andrew’s House complex, which is owned by the government, as a more cost-effective option than the continued commercial rent and unavoidable expense of maintaining and refurbishing Bute House as a listed property – which is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, but these costs fall on the public purse.

“However, no final proposals have been developed by officials and therefore no decision has been taken.”

He added: “The First Minister is extremely fond of Bute House as a place to showcase Scotland. However, in the current financial climate, we have to pay careful attention to any proposal which substantiates a more cost-effective option.”

If the move goes ahead, it is bound to place fresh question marks over the future of Bute House, with the National Trust for Scotland having gone through well-documented financial difficulties in recent years.

The trust’s headquarters, also in Charlotte Square, was sold for £8.75m.

Nonetheless, after a review conducted by former presiding officer George Reid, the trust has now made it clear that it does not intend to dispose of the more than 100 properties that it still owns across the country.