First minister's residence Bute House to close for 'essential works'

Bute House is an A-listed building owned by the National Trust for Scotland

The first minister's official residence is to be closed for nearly five months so essential repairs can take place.

Work on Bute House, at Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, will begin on 17 April and last for 20 weeks, with a scheduled completion date of 1 September.

Meetings of the Scottish cabinet will take place at St Andrew's House while the work is being carried out.

It means Nicola Sturgeon's successor as first minister will have temporary alternative accommodation in Edinburgh.

The SNP leader, who announced her resignation on 15 February, has one more week in office before her successor is announced on 27 March.

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As well as the first minister's official residence in the capital, Bute House is frequently used to hold press conferences, media briefings and cabinet meetings.

External and internal work will be carried out on the Georgian A-listed building, which is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon's successor as first minister will have alternative accommodation in Edinburgh

In addition to stonework and roof repairs, windows will be refurbished and essential fire safety works carried out.

The repairs follow a survey carried out in August and September 2021, which identified work required to maintain the fabric of the building.

The Scottish government said the cost of the works, and any alternative accommodation for the first minister, would be published "proactively" once they are confirmed after the work is completed.

Bute House - a brief history

• The plot where Bute House now stands at 6 Charlotte Square was sold in 1792 to a shoemaker, Orlando Hart, for £290

• It has many links to the slave trade. It was home between 1796 and 1800 to John Innes Crawford, who inherited his father's estates in Jamaica including the Bellfield sugar plantation

• The townhouse was turned into a hotel for over 20 years from the 1820s. The fixings for the letters of the hotel's name can still be seen on the outside wall above the front entrance

• John Crichton-Stuart, the 4th Marquess of Bute, acquired the property in 1922, having previously bought No 5 next door. He later acquired No 7 in 1927

• After the death of the 5th Marquess of Bute, the three houses became the property of the National Trust for Scotland in 1966

The main drawing room, with its grand chandelier, hosts VIP visits and media conferences

• Between 1970 and 1999 it served as the official residence of the Secretary of State for Scotland

• Since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, it has been the official residence of the first minister

• A portrait of each first minister - the late Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish, Jack McConnell, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon - is displayed in the main staircase

• The second and third floors of the four-storey house contain the private residence of the first minister

• In 2002, a drunken woman entered Bute House and attended a private function. But neither then-First Minister Jack McConnell nor his wife were in residence at the time