THE controversial £414 million Scottish Parliament building was at the centre of a new row today after officials said they are to install extra heating in a committee room just four years after it opened.
Complaints about the cold have prompted the parliament to call in workmen to rip up the floor of Committee Room 2 and fit additional under-floor radiators.
But today one senior MSP said: "If anyone is feeling it chilly they can wear their jacket."
The Holyrood building has in the past provoked complaints both of arctic temperatures and overheating.
When MSPs first moved in, in 2004, the cold was listed as one of the top ten grumbles about the new building, but by the following summer, MSPs were complaining their offices and the committee rooms were so hot they could hardly stay awake.
Excessive heat was even said to be damaging the fabric of the building. Twelve specially-crafted oak doors, costing around £1000 each, became warped and had to be replaced.
The installation of the additional gas heating will take place during the two-week autumn recess which began on Friday. Officials said they were unable to say how much it would cost, but it will come out of parliament's £1.389m annual maintenance budget.
But Tory MSP Alex Johnstone said: "I have never found Committee Room 2 to be unnecessarily cold. I find it one of the more pleasant rooms because it has a bit of air in it. If anyone is feeling it chilly, they can wear their jackets."
He added: "The design of the building is such that you can have some people freezing to death and other people doing all sorts of things to keep the temperature down at the same time.
Three years ago, thermal imaging of the parliament building revealed embarrassingly high levels of heat loss. The parliament has now set a target of cutting energy use by eight per cent by March 2009. It has already slashed emissions by 76 tonnes by using electricity from 100 per cent renewable resources.
Earlier this year, parliament chief executive Paul Grice said meeting the energy target would require all building users to follow good practice, including keeping heating at a reasonable level.
Under a European directive, the parliament will soon have to display an energy rating – like fridges and washing machines.
Independent Lothians MSP and outspoken Holyrood critic Margo MacDonald said she had repeatedly requested information on the energy rating. She said: "The overall impression is it's good luck rather than good management that determines whether it is cold enough to wear a fur coat or warm enough to grow tomatoes."
The full article contains 453 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
