Craig Hoy MSP calls on reopening of county's historic venues

Hailes Castle, between Haddington and East Linton; Tantallon Castle, near North Berwick; and Dirleton Castle were all closed indefinitely by Historic Environment Scotland in January.

At the time, it was said that the attractions, which are visited by more than 75,000 people each year, would be closed due to erosion caused by climate change.

Now, Craig Hoy, South Scotland MSP, has called for visitors to be allowed to return to the castles.

He said: “I believe these castles should be reopened as soon as possible, and it is worrying that Scottish Ministers and Historic Environment Scotland have refused to set out a timetable to reassure local business owners and residents.

“It feels like the reopening of these castles, which are key local attractions and contribute to local businesses and the economy, is being kicked into the long grass.

“This will undermine tourism, visitor numbers and local growth.”

Craig Hoy, South Scotland MSP, has called for attractions such as Dirleton Castle to be reopened as soon as possible

The politician, who also represents the Haddington and Lammermuir ward on East Lothian Council, has already contacted Historic Environment Scotland and Scottish Ministers about the issue.

Mr Hoy called for a timetable to be set for the reopening of the castles, asked about funding options to see the attractions reopen sooner, and requested a meeting to discuss the issue in more detail.

Dr David Mitchell, director of conservation at Historic Environment Scotland, responded: “As I’m sure you’re aware, we have a large number of sites to cover and need to prioritise these nationally and with the resources we have available. We are undertaking that prioritisation at present with an initial focus on higher-risk sites and then on the basis of other factors – including economic and community impact.

“You will appreciate that we have similar requests from other communities so it is our intention to be transparent about the process.

“We are not able to discuss a timetable at this point but please be assured that we will maintain partial access wherever we are able to safely and are also looking at other ways to engage people throughout 2022.

“I realise this must be frustrating for residents and local businesses but I hope this helps to clarify our current situation and of course we will post updates on our website, to our members and via the media as soon as we have more information to share.

“We have this week been able to identify a technical solution at Seton Collegiate Church which will enable weddings here to continue.”

Hailes Castle. Copyright M J Richardson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Neil Gray MSP, Scottish Minister for culture, Europe and international development, also got in touch with the Conservative MSP.

He noted that the Scottish Government had provided Historic Environment Scotland with nearly £150 million over the last two financial years.

Mr Gray said: “Historic Environment Scotland is responding to the safety concerns identified at the properties in care using its existing resources of both Government funding and other income.

“I can confirm that while there is restricted access at these specific sites in East Lothian, there is still public access available to the grounds of Tantallon Castle, and to the grounds, exhibition and shop of Dirleton Castle.”