Revised plans for a £45 million music centre and cultural venue for a landmark site in the Scottish capital have been unveiled.
New proposals have been submitted by the Royal High School Preservation Trust for the redevelopment of the 1829 Thomas Hamilton masterpiece on Calton Hill to create the National Music Centre.
A plan to move St Mary’s Music School across Edinburgh into the building left out after costs spiralled, creating "a significant gap between the funds pledged and the actual expenses of the project".
READ MORE: Trust unveils music centre vision for former Royal High School
The new Richard Murphy Architects plans, still funded by a grant from the culture-backing Dunard Fund, involve the existing building being repurposed to feature spaces for education, community engagement and performance.
The new National Centre for Music (NCM) will become the main tenant of the former Royal High School, and manage it as a cultural institution, which as much as possible will be open to the public. (Image: RHSPT)
It will include the auditorium, also considered at one time for the devolved Scottish Parliament, being transformed into a concert hall for 300.
"The new National Centre for Music (NCM) will become the main tenant of the former Royal High School, and manage it as a cultural institution, which as much as possible will be open to the public," the new planning statement reads.
READ MORE: Chair steps down from iconic Scottish landmark's development
"The NCM’s purposes are, in effect, to develop and manage a national centre for music education and public performance, to provide cultural, community and public benefit to and for the people of Scotland and beyond."
'Perhaps the most important function of the National Centre for Music will be as a platform for collaborations both within the building and online, as well as out in the wider community' (Image: RHSPT)
It will also "manage, programme and provide public access to the assembly hall and other public and reception spaces on the site, principally for excellence in music but also for cultural purposes more generally, manage recording studio spaces, manage a public restaurant/café, manage, maintain, and provide public green spaces and provide opportunity for cultural and festival activities".
The RHSPT has previously brought forward two approved applications for the site with approvals being granted in 2017 and 2022 respectively.
READ MORE: Care village bid lodged for former Royal High School
"Following commercial review and a viability assessment of the 2022 consented scheme it was determined that the scheme as consented could not be constructed within the current economic climate,” the papers state.
"The Trust therefore begun an exercise of review and development of a new proposal with the aim of developing a proposal for submission.”
St Mary’s Music School said: "Regrettably, the costs associated with the current scheme have escalated beyond initial forecasts, creating a significant gap between the funds pledged by the Dunard Fund and the actual expenses of the project.
"In light of this, the RHSPT, after conducting a thorough feasibility study, has come to the conclusion that pursuing the extensive building works necessary to adapt a portion of the Royal High School site is no longer practical."
It comes after a long-running plans for a luxury hotel by Urbanist Hotels at the site were eventually rejected by Scottish Ministers in 2020.
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