Recognition for Abbot House in the City of Dunfermline

The motion

That the Parliament celebrates the Grade A listed Abbot House, in the city of Dunfermline, being brought back to life by the Abbot House SCIO following a long period of closure, with the vision of creating a place for both the community and visitors to enjoy whilst preserving the building for future generations, through a self-sustaining financial model and a mantra of "respecting the old, embracing the new"; recognises that Abbot House is Dunfermline’s oldest house, at over 500 years old, and sits in the heart of the city’s Heritage Quarter and boasts several significant features, including a rare 1500s wall fresco, a 14th century tracery window and a large ceiling mural painted by renowned Scottish artist and writer, Alasdair Gray; understands that, since 2020, the "pink hoose", as it is known by locals, is reopening in a phased approach and, although not yet complete, already offers a beautiful gift and book shop, which champions local artisans and writers, an independent coffee shop operated by Prost Coffee, a multi-purpose creative workshop, artist studios, events room hire and a walled garden with its stunning view over Dunfermline Abbey; acknowledges that the renovation programme is due for completion in 2025 once funding has been secured to include a free visitor experience to tell the story of Abbot House, with a focus on inclusive and immersive learning experiences, including a local history group of volunteers engaged to bring the Abbot House Story to life, including its medieval history, the people who lived there and how they used to live; understands that the reopening of such a cherished building in the heart of the Heritage Quarter has not only resulted in attracting increasing visitor numbers to Scotland’s newest city, but has also focused on supporting local people and businesses, with Abbot House being home to a graphic designer, traditional violin maker, textile designer, interior designer/influencer and fabric designer; welcomes that the independent coffee shop proudly employs 12 local young people and the gift shop stocks products made locally by artisans, providing them with what it sees as a valuable city centre presence; celebrates what it considers to be the commitment to collaborative working by Abbot House, with the key role that it plays within the active Dunfermline Heritage Partnership group, aimed at improving visitor experiences through heritage, as well as the work with the National Lottery-funded Wellbeing Through Heritage programme, offering active workshops aimed at improving wellbeing, the local arts festival, Outwith Festival, and the Alasdair Gray Archive in Glasgow, which is creating an art trail from Glasgow to Dunfermline of Alasdair’s work, which, it believes, is of national and international interest, and acknowledges that the journey to reopening has not been easy, and that Abbot House has been faced with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, then the financial crisis, but considers that, throughout, the dedication of its very small paid team of only 1.5 FTE and voluntary team of trustees and gardeners has allowed this project to flourish and is saving this beautiful old building for both current and future generations to enjoy.

No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

SNP 9 Lab 5 Con 3

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S6M-14146 by reference.