Image: A rendering of Archive House © Oberlanders Architects (C/O Historic Environment Scotland)
The project would have created a new home for a dispersed collection which totals more than 15km of shelving
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has paused a project to create an archive facility for its collections.
The organisation said “escalating costs” were to blame for the ‘Archive House’ project being put on hold.
The project would have seen an existing building in the Sherwood Industrial Estate in Bonnyrigg converted into a facility to house the organisation’s extensive records and archives, spanning over 5,000 years of Scotland’s history by 2026.
Currently housed at John Sinclair House in Edinburgh and other locations across central Scotland, the HES Archive holds over 3,500 different collections, comprising drawings, photographs, documents, prints and tomes stretching across 15km of shelving.
Lesley Ferguson, Head of Archives at HES, last year called the project “the greatest opportunity our generation has had to discover, catalogue, conserve and secure the knowledge that underpins the understanding and conservation of Scotland’s history.”
HES said its “aspiration for a world-class facility remains unchanged”, but it will now focus on a “more immediate solution to address the need to relocate its collections from John Sinclair House before October 2026, including a temporary solution for storage.
“We are committed to the long-term stewardship of the wonderful national resource that is our archive,” said Craig Mearns, Interim Chief Executive of HES.
“While we are disappointed to have to step back from the project as originally conceived, our priority at this time is delivering an appropriate interim solution.”
HES said it will |continue to explore opportunities to incorporate sustainable design and construction into the revised project” and will “work closely with partners and stakeholders to develop a long-term plan that meets the needs of both the collections and the public.”