Hansard

I immediately associate myself with previous speakers’ remarks about Gareth Hoskins. As a governor of George Watson’s college, I knew Gareth very well. The cabinet secretary rightly said how much of a loss he will be in the field of architecture, as he will be in so many areas of culture. The legacy of the national gallery’s refurbishment and extension will be a fitting tribute to somebody who was a real inspiration in Scotland.

As other members have done, I thank the committee and the clerks for all their work on the bill, and I reiterate that, as at stage 1, the Conservatives will be firmly in support of it at decision time.

It is hard to believe that it is just 10 years since the completion of the National Galleries of Scotland’s Playfair project, which was a significant development that transformed NGS’s presence on the Mound and demonstrated its commitment to the preservation and enhancement of access to art and culture. The fact that, more than a decade later, NGS should again lodge a private bill that seeks to triple the size of the gallery to showcase Scottish art displays its continued commitment to those aims, and we can all hope that Edinburgh will soon have an exhibition of Scotland’s national art to compete with the national collections in many other international cities, including London, Paris and New York.

We should not forget the other benefits of the project. Although, as the cabinet secretary said, NGS has already managed to increase visitor numbers, a further expansion will bring discrete economic, social and tourism benefits. In addition, there will be better access—including better disabled access, which is very important—to Princes Street gardens, and the landscaping around the area where the gardens and the gallery meet will ensure that we continue to be privileged in our busy capital city to have that excellent green space.

One of the bill’s successes lies in getting round what might have been a very difficult legal issue if we had had to use the City of Edinburgh District Council Order Confirmation Act 1991. That could have led to unnecessary complexity and great difficulty, so we should give credit to the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council and the National Galleries of Scotland, because they have managed to bring forward a bill that will make it much easier for the project to be successful. That process has brought everybody together so that we can celebrate and take pride in a development that will be extremely important for future generations.

I compliment all the stakeholders who have been involved in the bill process, and I greatly look forward to the completion of the project in 2018. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing the Turner exhibition, which I have heard so much about. It sounds really special.

I am very happy to pledge the Conservatives’ support for the bill.