Written question asked by John Home Robertson (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 December 1997, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 February 1998. It was answered by Calum Macdonald (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 February 1998 on behalf of the Scottish Office.

Scottish Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what was the cost to public funds of grant aid by Historic Scotland for harling the walls of Bankton House, Prestonpans, using lime mortar in (a) 1994 and (b) 1997; and what estimate was made of the cost of the same work if cement were to be included in the mortar. - Includes figures.

Answer: Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to public funds of grant aid by Historic Scotland for harling the walls of Bankton House, Prestonpans, using lime mortar in (a) 1994 and (b) 1997; and what estimate was made of the cost of the same work if cement were to be included in the mortar. [22144] Mr. Macdonald: The proportion of the total grant of £358,500 awarded by Historic Scotland in 1994 which related to the cost of lime harling was £2,068. This sum excludes preliminaries, preparation work, professional fees and VAT. A final account is not yet available for the remedial work which commenced in 1997 supported by the award of a further grant of £101,190. However, the tender cost indicates that the comparable cost of lime harling is £25,644. No estimate was made of the cost of including cement in the lime harl mix as this was considered an inappropriate material on the very soft original sandstone walling of this building.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 305 c670W; 22144
Session: 1997-98
Subjects: Central government Buildings Expenditure Grants Historic buildings Scotland Repairs and maintenance Historic Scotland Prestonpans
Contains statistics: Yes