Mary Contini column: Knock down Brunton Hall and start again

I share this with you only because my wedding reception was held in the state-of-the-art, newly opened Brunton Hall in Musselburgh.

Two-hundred-and-fifty guests, the entire catering prepared by my mother and father, and their local team of helpers; I even set the tables myself before I scrubbed up ready for the altar.

This game-changing venue was initially funded by a bequest of £700,000 from John D. Brunton of Musselburgh Wireworks.

Intended to provide a community space for the people of Musselburgh, it has achieved that in bucketloads.

Who hasn’t attended a function, a theatre play, a film or a children’s event in the Brunton Hall?

But let’s be honest: it’s not a bonnie building; a vast concrete ‘carbuncle,’ an imposing, monochromatic construction, no reflection of the welcome or sentiments of the ancient Honest Toun.

Designed post-war in the ‘Brutalist’ style of architecture, it celebrates concrete and exposed building materials, representing a socialist ideal away from the decorative style of the bourgeoisie.

We are fortunate, then, that the condemnation of the structure of the building gives us the option to knock it down and start again: a new design, a modern structure, reflecting the history of Musselburgh with a function fit for our 21st-century future; an inclusive, flexible, film, music and theatre venue.

A state-of-the-art building could elevate Musselburgh to become East Lothian’s centre of culture, bringing tourism, focus and civic pride. There is an appetite.

Edinburgh is building a new concert hall, North Berwick has raised the bar and even Dundee is getting in on the act. It’s time to put Musselburgh firmly on the map.

Historic Scotland is proposing that the Brunton Hall should be preserved as a listed building, a building that will have ever-spiralling maintenance costs with dwindling use in a modern society.

Look to the future: a new Brunton Hall could be listed as a centre of excellence, built beautifully, not brutally.