Designating the Brunton Hall, Musselburgh
Feedback updated 14 Nov 2025
We asked
From 31 July to 11 September, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on a proposal to list the Brunton Hall, Musselburgh.
The Brunton Hall is a purpose-built civic centre complex and public arts venue that was built between 1968 and 1971. It is a landmark building in Musselburgh town centre and is a major example of post-war civic architecture in Scotland. It was designed by the renowned Scottish architect, Sir William Kininmonth, of Rowand Anderson Kininmonth & Paul, who was an important proponent of modern architecture in Scotland, and features a large piece of abstract public art by the Scottish artist and sculptor Tom Whalen.
The building was in the process of being vacated due to the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in the roof panels, and the Council are considering the future of the building and this site.
Through Citizen Space, we invited members of the public to tell us if they agreed with our assessment of the special interest of the building and whether they had further comments to make on the potential listing.
We also consulted directly with East Lothian Council as the planning authority and as the owners/managers of the building.
Our selection guidance for designation and the policies we work to are published in the Designations Policy and Selection Guidance document.
You said
We received a total of 304 responses to our consultation. There were 297 responses to the online survey and seven written responses, including one from East Lothian Council, one from the Trustees of the Brunton Theatre, an open letter from elected members of the Labour party, and the remainder were from local and national amenity bodies.
79.8% of those who responded to the online survey agreed with our assessment of the special architectural and historic interest. 19.2% did not agree. There were 151 additional comments provided as part of the online survey.
East Lothian Council provided a detailed report and supporting documents setting out their proposals for the site.
The responses provided many comments relating to the architectural or historic interest of the building. There were a range of other comments related to proposals to demolish the building and reasons for this proposal, including the building’s condition and related costs. There were also comments about general procedural matters, our designations policy on development, and roles and responsibilities of HES and the planning authority.
We did
We have collated all the responses and published them in a consultation report, which includes comments in full (where we have appropriate permissions). We have published East Lothian Council’s response separately. A summary of the consultation is available in section 4.3 of our Report of Handling.
All of the relevant reports can be found under the Documents section below and on our Heritage Portal.
We have taken all relevant comments on special interest into account in our assessment and updated it with the additional information. We considered again the architectural and historic interest of the building and remain of the view that the building is a notable and rare example of a post-war civic centre complex and community theatre.
We have responded to any comments that are relevant to our decision-making in Annex B of our Report of Handling.
Our Decision
Following the consideration of the detailed information received through our consultation, we consider that the Council’s proposals for the building are ‘particularly advanced’ in the terms of our policy (pp. 7-8).
Our decision is therefore not to list the building because of development proposals that are at an advanced stage. We have set out how we have arrived at our decision at 3.3 in our Report of Handling.
We remain of the view that the building is of special architectural or historic interest. If the proposals to demolish are not taken forward, we will reconsider the listing of the building.
Documents
HES – Brunton Hall – Report of Handling – Decision
Overview
We are carrying out a consultation to inform a decision on whether to designate the Brunton Hall as a listed building at category B
The Brunton Hall is a purpose-built civic centre complex and public arts venue that was built between 1968 and 1971. It is a landmark building in Musselburgh town centre that is prominently located at the junction between North High Street and Bridge Street. Due to the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in the roof panels, the public areas of the building were closed in 2023. The Council offices remain in use but the building is due to be vacated. We understand that the Council are considering the future of the building and this site.
The Brunton Hall was designed in a Brutalist style by the renowned Scottish architect, Sir William Kininmonth, of Rowand Anderson Kininmonth & Paul, who was an important proponent of modern architecture in Scotland.
The building is a major example of post-war civic architecture in Scotland. The distinctive design was carefully considered, in terms of its scale, materials and plan form, and conveys a sense of civic importance whilst integrating well within its historic setting. It also shows a high level of material quality and features a large piece of abstract public art by the Scottish artist and sculptor Tom Whalen.
The building is one of only a small number of civic centres that were ever built in Scotland, and it is rare for the survival of its early character and form. It is also one of the few remaining examples that incorporated a civic theatre, a feature that was largely confined to those that served the larger towns and cities.
The Brunton Hall is a high quality and carefully articulated example of a large civic complex and arts venue. It was a key component of Musselburgh’s post-war building programme and its scale, complexity and ambition were unusual for a smaller Scottish burgh at this time.
We are now gathering views on our proposal to list this building at category B. We will make a final decision based on a full understanding of the significance of the building and the development status following the conclusion of this consultation.
Read more about why we think the Brunton Hall meets the criteria for listing and find out more about development proposals and designation by downloading our Report of Handling.
West and south elevations of the Brunton Hall © HES
How we designate listed buildings
We list buildings of special architectural or historic interest. A dedicated team researches and assesses all designation applications.
- Watch our video about how we list buildings
- Find out more about listed buildings in the Advice and Support section of the Historic Environment Scotland website.
- Read our Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
Why your views matter
We’d love to know whether you agree with our proposal.
To help you respond to the following survey, please read why we think the Brunton Hall meets the criteria for listing by downloading our Report of Handling.
You can tell us if you agree with our proposal by completing the short questionnaire below.
This questionnaire usually takes 5-10 minutes to complete.
Find out what comments we consider and what happens next in our consultation guide or watch our designations video on YouTube.
You can also watch a version of this video in British Sign Language.
What happens next
Please note that this consultation is now closed.
We are now considering the comments received at consultation before making a decision on designation. When we have reached a decision, we will publish this on our Portal, and it will also be available to view on Citizen Space.
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