Public barred from council meetings for nearly two years during £12.6m works

The public will be barred from attending Midlothian council meetings in person for nearly two years as a £12.6m refit is carried out at its headquarters.

Council meetings will be held in a specialist housing complex in Dalkeith while work on the HQ is carried out.

However, while all public meetings will be broadcast live on the internet or recorded and made public afterwards, people will not be able to attend.

A council spokesperson said the public will not be able to attend because the temporary room being used to replace the council chamber is crowded.

They said: “Public webcast access will remain the same for council meetings so people will be able to watch webcast meetings either live or a recording afterwards. However, because of space constraints, the public won’t be able to attend in person.

“This setup is intended to continue until the work is completed, currently anticipated to be March 2027.”

Councillors approved plans to refurbish the Dalkeith headquarters on Buccleuch Street at a private meeting in November last year. The cost was revealed in the budget papers released in February this year as £12.6 million.

It said the retrofit of the building will be ‘fully funded’ by ‘prudential borrowing’.

Midlothian House is closing over the summer with staff moving to alternative bases or working from home. Council meetings are scheduled to be held in Normandy Court from next month when elected members return from summer recess.

Normandy Court was initially built as a 56-bed care facility for the elderly on the site of the old Dalkeith High School. However, Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership, which would have provided care at the site, withdrew from the project after the council cut its budget, leaving it unable to afford it.

Instead, it was turned into 38 amenity flats for over 55s from the council’s social housing list.

The council spokesperson said: “Midlothian House is closing for around 18-20 months from the end of August for external repairs and changes to the ground floor.

“After the summer recess, council meetings will move to available space in a separate part of the building to the amenity housing at Normandy Court, on the site of the old Dalkeith High School.

“Every effort will be made to minimise disruption during this period as all council staff and their visitors are expected to follow protocols to maintain a safe and respectful environment for all residents.”