Cutting criticism for tall grass at Holyrood

THE Scottish Parliament's multimillion-pound attempt to blend in with its spectacular natural surroundings has been dismissed as a "disgrace" and "eyesore" by some of the country's leading gardeners.

The unkempt, metre-high grass which covers the gigantic concrete spur jutting out of the southern side of the £431m building was intended to symbolise the Parliament merging into the landscape of Holyrood Park.

But critics of this bold horticultural experiment have compared the results with everything from an unfinished Italian motorway flyover to the business end of a broom.

In particular, the elite of Scotland's gardening community are wondering why a nation that produces smooth golf tees and bowling greens has given its expensive new symbol such a disastrously overgrown look.

Holyrood's 800 square metres of tall grass - part of the building's £14m landscaping - covers the underground car park and basement which is used for storage of documents and bulky files. But the grass has become so overgrown in recent weeks that it has risen to safari heights, obscuring the neighbouring Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's main residence in Scotland.

Moreover, some of the grass has become dried out and brown, attracting criticism from leading Scottish gardeners. Writer and horticultural expert Antoinette Galbraith said: "I wonder what they had in mind? The result certainly gives the Parliament an unkempt, unloved appearance lacking in maintenance. To be successful, meadows require a lot of upkeep and expense. Could it be that the Parliament has overreached itself again?"

Suki Urquhart, author of The Scottish Gardener, said the Parliament site should have made greater use of traditional lawns instead of the current long grass. She said: "It's far too cramped and does not frame the building well as a result. How appropriate it is for a parliament building to have wild grass I don't know when most people are used to manicured lawns."

MSPs who have in the past attacked the cost overruns and delays of the notorious project, have added their voices to the criticism of the landscape. Margo MacDonald, the Independent member for the Lothians, said: "Concrete and messy grass: that's our Parliament building. I think it's an absolute eyesore but let's try and look for ways in which we could use this new 'asset'. Perhaps we could hire it out for keen golfers to practice getting out of the rough.

"I suspect the unkempt look is because they cannot get the grass cutting machines up on the roof as you would have to put protection up around the walls. I would like to know what the people of Scotland who paid for this building make of this use of their money. It's absolutely awful."

Liberal Democrat MSP Donald Gorrie said: "These things are a matter of taste but I think it looks extraordinarily unattractive and harms the appearance of the building as a whole."

Scottish Parliament officials defended the grass, pointing out that the controversial Catalan designer Enric Miralles wanted to create not just a building but a landscape that would encompass the romanticism of the Scots identity and embrace the democratic ideal.

Kenny Fraser, landscape architect at the Scottish Parliament, said: "Those who have been watching the Open at St Andrews may have noticed Scottish native meadow grass much like the grass growing on the Parliament.

"The colour of the grass is a completely natural stage of the native meadow grass growing in the Parliament's roof gardens. It was chosen as a design feature to blend in with the native meadow grass found in Holyrood Park particularly close by Salisbury crags.

"The grass is reacting to the dry weather we have been having recently, and if we were to have a week's wet weather the grass would change to a greener colour."

Passer-by Annabel Hudson, a recent graduate from Edinburgh University, said: "The grass is quite of the moment, in a boho, unkempt sort of way. It's the horticultural equivalent of Bob Geldof's hair: perhaps we will look back on it in 20 years as we look back on Bono's mullet at the first Live Aid concert."

The Scottish Parliament has been beset with long delays, massive cost overruns and official bungling since building began in 1999. It finally opened in October last year, three years late and more than 10 times over the original budget.

Despite its controversial appearance, the Parliament has won a string of international architecture awards. In April it was awarded Spain's greatest architectural prize, the Manuel de la Dehesa award.

A month earlier the Parliament picked up the Edinburgh Architectural Association's centenary medal and in May it won the title of Scotland's best publicly funded building by the Scottish Design Awards.