Edinburgh Today

Bank of Scotland

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Restoration

HBOS (the company formed when Halifax Building Society and Bank of Scotland merged in 2001) recently announced that they intend to seek planning permission for restoration of  the old Bank of Scotland Head Office on The Mound.

The plan is for the Great Hall  to be restored to its former 2-storey elegance by  the removal of the floor installed  in 1929 at 1st floor level.  Office facilities are to be improved,  the museum is to be extend and the car park is to be grassed over.

200th Anniversary

The building took 4 years to build.  Bank of Scotland have occupied it since 1806.  It is hoped that the restoration work can begin in 2004 and will be completed in time for the 200th anniversary in 2006.

Edinburgh Evening News 31 October 2003, p.3.  This article also included an old engraving of the building and an attractive architect's sketch of how the Great Hall would look following the restoration.

Reaction to the proposed Restoration

The proposal to remove banking services from the former Head Office of Bank of Scotland, as part of the restoration has provoked strong reactions from some prominent Scottish figures, including at least one former senior Bank of Scotland employee.  A web site has been created, dedicated to saving the Branch on the Mound.

Edinburgh Evening News 4 December 2003, p.10.]