THE Scottish Parliament’s heating and ventilation system is “about to fall over” putting the operation of the building at risk, MSPs have been told.
Just under two decades after Holyrood was opened, the building energy management system (BEMS) has to be urgently replaced as it is “at the end of its operational life”, with increasing incidents of failure.
Holyrood officials have warned it is now a “huge risk” because it “runs the building”, including ensuring the right temperatures are maintained for communications servers for broadcasting, security and IT systems.
There is also a need for a more modern system to help meet net-zero targets, with the current set-up compared to trying to “watch YouTube on a 2003 Nokia phone”, the meeting of Holyrood’s finance and public administration committee was told last week.
The procurement for the three-year project to replace the BEMS will begin “imminently” and is expected to cost around £4million, although the parliament says the final total will be “subject to market prices”.
The details are outlined in minutes of an evidence session held last Tuesday on the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s budget for the coming financial year.
Michelle Hegarty, deputy chief executive of the Scottish Parliament, was asked how a new BEMS system would help to reduce energy consumption.
She responded: “There are two factors. First, it is a replacement, because the current system is about to fall over, which would mean that we would be in a risk position with regard to being able to operate the Parliament.
“Secondly, there are benefits in replacing it with a more modern and resilient system because other investments that we need to make in facilities management in order to reach net zero will be able to interface smartly with the new building energy management system.”
She added: “Somebody who explained it to me at the outset used a good analogy that stuck with me. When the system was introduced, people were using Nokia phones, but you cannot watch YouTube on a 2003 Nokia phone.
“We are dealing with technology that is at the very end of its life as regards what it can do to smartly monitor usage of electricity and gas supply in the building and adapt that as the footfall in the building changes and how we use the building adapts.
“We must have a system that the other investments that we need to think about in order to meet net zero in the building can interface with and plug into. The new system will lead to that.”
Labour MSP Daniel Johnson questioned the figure of £4 million which has been put forward for the system, saying it “is a very large sum”.
In response, Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw, who sits on the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, said: “It is clear that, as we seek to meet our environmental obligations, every aspect of how the building and the room that we sit in just now operate is critical.
“It is not like a domestic situation where we can wait until the boiler fails and then shiver for a fortnight and have someone come along and do something about it.
“It is obvious that we must have a plan that ensures that the Parliament will always be functional and operational.”
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “Our current Building and Energy Management System (BEMS) is almost 20 years old and becoming obsolete.
“It is no longer fit for purpose, with increasing incidences of system failure putting business at risk.
“Replacing this system will also play a critical role in helping us achieve net zero.”
The spiralling cost of the new Holyrood building was one of the biggest issues during the early years of devolution, The building eventually cost 10 times the initial estimate of between £10-40 million, with a final total of £414m.
However, it subsequently won several architectural awards and has become a major tourist attraction in the capital.
