The construction of the new Scottish parliament in edinburgh: An opinion poll of the Scottish public and construction industry professionals

The construction of the new Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh can be seen to be the most contentious building project of its generation. In January 2000, Sir David Steel, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, stated, “this building is the most important to be built in Scotland for some 300 years”. However, significant design changes have led to a substantial cost escalation and the completion date has been revised frequently. More recently, a key subcontractor went into receivership with the Holyrood client expected to take a £3.9m loss. Thus, on one view the project can be seen to be a physical manifestation of democracy and on another the hungry media have tagged it as yet another large prestigious public project being over-budget and over-time. This paper examines the views expressed by a selection of 27 construction professionals and 114 members of the Scottish public who contributed to an opinion poll questionnaire conducted in 2002. The results indicate a general dissatisfaction with the management of the project.