We come to the final stage proceedings on the National Galleries of Scotland Bill. For the first part of the final stage proceedings, members should have a copy of the National Galleries of Scotland Bill—SP bill 68—and the marshalled list, which contains the four amendments that I have selected for debate. As all four amendments will be debated in a single group, a groupings list has not been printed. I ask members to refer to the marshalled list.
Section 2—Meaning of "the relevant land"
Amendment 1 is grouped with amendments 2 to 4.
The amendments are minor and are directed at correcting small inaccuracies, which were helpfully pointed out by Hugh Buchanan, the Ordnance Survey's parliamentary and government adviser for Scotland. The inaccuracies are in the four grid reference points used to locate the corners of the small rectangular-shaped piece of land to which the bill relates.
At the outset, I thank the convener of the National Galleries of Scotland Bill Committee, Rhona Brankin, for her handling of this matter, as well as the members, the clerks and the legal advisers. The bill could have been highly contentious, because, quite rightly, the citizens of Edinburgh—and even those beyond Edinburgh—guard Princes Street gardens jealously. The proposal will provide an improvement that will have international effects.
Order. There really is too much extraneous noise. I cannot hear the member, and I am sure that others cannot hear him either.
I take it that you do not want me to start again, Presiding Officer.
I think that we caught the first part, Mr Young.
The National Galleries of Scotland are working on the Playfair project, which involves the restoration of the Royal Scottish Academy building and various other improvements. As has been said before, the connecting underground link between the two galleries plus the other facilities that will come into play will have an international impact. Everyone on the committee agreed that the proposal is definitely an improvement—the committee's meetings were perhaps the briefest in the Parliament's history, as we were all in agreement.
In the absence of Margaret Smith, who is our representative on the committee, I support the bill and the amendments. The amendments might well qualify for the Guinness Book of Records, or a similar document, given their unusualness. Behind the curious amendments and the bill is a very important project for improving the national galleries of Scotland so that they are truly of an international class and benefit the whole of Scotland. We should all support that. A few square feet of Princes Street gardens are well sacrificed to that end.
I express my earnest hope that the proposed extension, which will be of great benefit to National Galleries of Scotland, will not be taken as a green light by any other developers to make other encroachments on Princes Street gardens. I cannot make myself any clearer than that.
I welcome the passage of the bill and look forward to the completion of the works, which will allow us to have the pleasure of visiting a refurbished, expanded and more interesting National Gallery of Scotland.
Order. We have not reached the debate on whether to pass the bill. This is the debate on amendment 1, on whether to leave out grid reference NT32544126738479. We should have speeches on amendment 1; we will have the final stage debate on whether to pass the bill a little later.
I beg your pardon, Presiding Officer. I thought that we had moved to the final stage debate, because of previous speeches.
Not quite.
Will you clarify that we are moving into the final stage debate now?
We have four amendments in total and we are dealing with the first of those amendments—amendment 1.
I intend to speak to the amendments only if that is required for clarification purposes.
Amendment 1 agreed to.
Amendments 2 to 4 moved—[Rhona Brankin]—and agreed to.