Beam comes loose in Holyrood chamber
IAN SWANSON
SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR
What a laughing stock: the expensive Scottish Parliament building was recently voted "Britain's Ugliest Building."
URGENT safety checks were being carried out on the roof of the Scottish Parliament today after one of the beams in the main chamber broke free during a debate. The 12ft oak beam was left hanging in mid-air over the Tory benches after it came loose from its moorings this morning.
A debate on the water industry was suspended following the scare so that structural engineers could examine the roof. Deputy Presiding Officer Murray Tosh told MSPs to clear the chamber, adding: "We are urgently assessing the position at the moment to decide whether it is safe to proceed. We have asked the
structural engineers to come as quickly as possible to asses the situation."
The chamber roof is a main feature of the £431 million Holyrood building which opened in October 2004.
The roof structure of the debating chamber is made from reinforced steel and oak-laminated beams, which allows it to span 30 metres without supporting columns. The roof beams are held in place by 112 stainless steel connecting joints.
One eye-witness said he heard a "swooshing" noise as one end of the beam swung loose.
The end of the beam swung about 70 degrees from its moorings in the ceiling and then stopped.
Mr Tosh first advised MSPs from that side of the chamber to move away and security guards cleared the press gallery. Half an hour later, the whole chamber was cleared.
Ironically, a debate scheduled for this afternoon was on the subject of architecture.
Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald, a leading critic of the building, said that she hoped the incident was a one-off.
But she said some extravagant claims had been made about the Holyrood building and these were now being put to the test.
She said: "Even checking this will be very difficult for them to do because of the construction of the place.
"I have had severe doubts about the building as a place of work and its functionality.
"They will now have to check the whole ceiling and that will be a massive job and cost a lot of money."
spectator.co.uk
IAN SWANSON
SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR
What a laughing stock: the expensive Scottish Parliament building was recently voted "Britain's Ugliest Building."
URGENT safety checks were being carried out on the roof of the Scottish Parliament today after one of the beams in the main chamber broke free during a debate. The 12ft oak beam was left hanging in mid-air over the Tory benches after it came loose from its moorings this morning.
A debate on the water industry was suspended following the scare so that structural engineers could examine the roof. Deputy Presiding Officer Murray Tosh told MSPs to clear the chamber, adding: "We are urgently assessing the position at the moment to decide whether it is safe to proceed. We have asked the
structural engineers to come as quickly as possible to asses the situation."
The chamber roof is a main feature of the £431 million Holyrood building which opened in October 2004.
The roof structure of the debating chamber is made from reinforced steel and oak-laminated beams, which allows it to span 30 metres without supporting columns. The roof beams are held in place by 112 stainless steel connecting joints.
One eye-witness said he heard a "swooshing" noise as one end of the beam swung loose.
The end of the beam swung about 70 degrees from its moorings in the ceiling and then stopped.
Mr Tosh first advised MSPs from that side of the chamber to move away and security guards cleared the press gallery. Half an hour later, the whole chamber was cleared.
Ironically, a debate scheduled for this afternoon was on the subject of architecture.
Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald, a leading critic of the building, said that she hoped the incident was a one-off.
But she said some extravagant claims had been made about the Holyrood building and these were now being put to the test.
She said: "Even checking this will be very difficult for them to do because of the construction of the place.
"I have had severe doubts about the building as a place of work and its functionality.
"They will now have to check the whole ceiling and that will be a massive job and cost a lot of money."
spectator.co.uk
