Brunton survey to close Sunday
Opinions of Brunton users sought by East Lothian Council
Users of the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh are being urged to take part in a survey on the RAAC-hit venue before a consultation on its future comes to a close this Sunday 29 June 2025.
The survey is part of East Lothian Council’s “Place Making Project”, a review of 29 of the council’s properties that deliver, or have the potential to deliver, general face-to-face services. The full survey can be accessed here.
This includes buildings that offer customer facilities where the public can speak face-to-face with an advisor, libraries with access to computers, bookable rooms and buildings which have the potential to be a community hub.
East Lothian Council’s “Building Information Card” on the Brunton. Click on the image to enlarge.
The council say that while there are not plans to stop or reduce these services, they need to take new approaches to their operation. This will: “help ensure the council has good quality, well used assets within local communities offering modern and flexible facilities to meet the needs of local residents.”
The Brunton Hall on Ladywell Way, which housed The Brunton theatre as well as council services, is a part of the overall survey.
The Brunton Theatre closed in March 2023 due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), often referred to as “crumbling concrete”.
commitment
The current survey is part of a commitment made by the council when it decided to mothball the venue in October last year. Because the Brunton is Common Good Asset, the council has to consult on any proposal to demolish the building, before a decision can be taken on future reprovision.
The survey can be accessed here and has seven questions on the future of the Brunton, with plenty of space for detailed answers.
- 1. Prior to some services being relocated due to the presence of RAAC, – how often did you use the building and what for?
- 2. Do you still use the building? If so, what for?
- 3. Does the Brunton Hall and Theatre provide value to you and your community? If so, how? If not, why not?
- 4. Were there any particular problems you encountered when using this building and the services it provides? If so, do you have ideas for how things could be improved?
- 5. Do we need to replace the Brunton Hall & Theatre? If yes, with what?
- 6. If you answered yes to the above question, what are your thoughts on how this could be delivered? Consider how this could be funded and ways of generating income from the building.
- 7. Do you have any comments on the information we have collected to date and presented on the Building Information Cards provided? Are there any details you think are important that we have missed or got wrong?
Although the Brunton building is owned by the ELC, it is run by the Brunton Theatre Trust. Since the Brunton’s closure, the Trust has pivoted to use alternative spaces across the region including the Corn Exchange in Haddington, Loretto Theatre and Northesk Church in Musselburgh.
The Trust is now working on a longer-term plan to strengthen the organisation and the customer experience in these spaces, until the Brunton Hall is replaced.
The survey is into 29 different spaces across East Lothian. However there is no need for participants to fill in more than one part of the survey.
The full survey can been accessed here. https://eastlothianconsultations.co.uk/infrastructure/place-making-project/consultation/.
ENDS
