Don’t blame Bill

Scott Macnab’s piece on the construction of the new Scottish Parliament building (7 May) refers to the cost, £414 million – a trifle, per square metre, compared with the new(ish) Parliamentary Office Building at Westminster, the current refurbishment of the grotesque imperial confection which is the Houses of Parliament( billions ?), Crossrail and HS 2( ditto ), Chris Grayling’s ferry fiasco, etc – which the Scottish taxpayer

is funding whether they like it or not.

The article also refers to “endless recrimination ”. Indeed, and to imply that an early project manager, Bill Armstrong, was at fault is unfair and inaccurate. Bill is no longer with us to defend himself, but he was a highly experienced architect who had designed and supervised large projects all over the world and who did his considerable best in very difficult circumstances.

Those who came up with “an early estimate of £10 -40 million” were – if someone has to be – to blame . That figure was never realistic, but what hope was there, ever, of a huge project such as this, conceived by and accountable to squabbling politicians–some of whom de tested the whole devolution“experiment ”– ever running smoothly and on budget?

Not everyone likes the design, of course, but, all in all, we should be grateful to those who laboured mightily to create such an “iconic”, prizewinning, home for our national parliament. Enough girning, already...

DAVID ROCHE Conachar Court, Isla Road, Perth