Hansard

I am pleased to contribute to this short debate. I thank the committee members for their work, although it appears to have been remarkably straightforward for this Parliament. With no objections to the proposal, it is a matter of law and process and I have confidence that members of the Scottish Parliament are enabling the necessary progress for the realisation of the project. Of course, if the bill is passed, there is still planning permission to be sought.

As a first-year student at the University of Edinburgh, I studied art history. I lived in the Patrick Geddes student halls, which overlook the national gallery. I was fortunate to study in Edinburgh with the Scottish national gallery on my doorstep. I spent much time there at tutorials. The gallery holds our national collection, with an impressive collection of renaissance paintings and work up to 1900s. In the early days of this Parliament, there was the successful campaign to buy Botticelli’s “The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child” and the response to that campaign demonstrated the commitment that people have to the gallery’s success.

The national gallery is also a city gallery, situated in the heart of Edinburgh, and frequently used by the people who live, work and study here. It houses an impressive collection for a small country, not least its Turner collection, which will soon be on display. It is also home to “The Skating Minister”, which provided inspiration for the design of this building.

As the cabinet secretary said, visitor numbers at the gallery have been growing, with a 39 per cent increase taking the numbers up to 1.29 million visitors, according to the latest figures. Visitor numbers at all our museums and galleries have shown strong growth and those museums and galleries are an important part of our tourist economy, as well as a rich resource for our country.

The proposed development gives the gallery an opportunity to provide permanent access to more of its collection. The gallery hosts the world’s largest collection of Scottish art, including works by David Wilkie, Allan Ramsay, William McTaggart, James Guthrie, and Henry Raeburn. I am conscious that those are all men. I very much welcome the modern Scottish women exhibition that is on just now at the national gallery. It covers a period when an unprecedented number of Scottish women trained and practised as artists. That is a special exhibition that includes an entrance fee. I hope that the extension in gallery space will allow greater opportunity for the work of women artists to be displayed under the free entrance scheme.

The extension of gallery space will allow greater exposure of the collection of Scottish artists by tripling the available space. It will include more 20th century Scottish art, including the work of the colourists. It is right that the National Galleries of Scotland is exploring ways in which to give greater access to Scottish art. There is high-quality, significant work that could be enjoyed and studied by more people than is possible at present. It is also argued that the additional space will give more opportunities for conservation and research.

This will be the second time that the national gallery has extended its footprint. The Playfair project, which was completed in 2004, improved the entrance and environment of the gallery, which is one of Edinburgh’s and Scotland’s key attractions.

The land is common good land, as well as being subject to a statutory restriction that prohibits the development of permanent buildings within the gardens. There are good reasons for that and there must always be caution when the status of common good land is changed. Princes Street gardens are integral to Edinburgh and they must be protected.

There is a planning process, but the proposed developments appear to be sensitively designed. There is a case for improving the landscaping around the gallery and providing more connectivity between Princes Street with its new town and the Royal Mile with its old town. The current access is not ideal—the Playfair steps are not for everyone.

However, today is not about that debate but about enabling that debate to take place. I am pleased to recognise the progress of the committee and wish it well in its future work.