Burns Museum may miss Scotland's Homecoming celebrations

The centre – designed by Edinburgh-based practice Simpson and Brown Architects – was meant to act as the centrepiece to next year’s Homecoming, which will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Scottish Bard.

However, according to the Scotland on Sunday, the museum might not open until the end of 2009, missing the celebratory year altogether.

It is understood that the National Trust for Scotland has yet to submit a funding application worth £5 million to the Heritage Lottery Fund. The grant will not be considered now until July this year, when the funding chiefs next meet.

The bad news follows an unfavourable design review by Architecture and Design Scotland in June last year, which then expressed its ‘disappointment’ over the proposals.

At the time, Simpson and Brown partner Stewart Brown said his firm was not leading the project, and the client’s brief of a ‘black box’ design gave ‘little room for detail’.

Have your say

You must sign in to make a comment.