Victoria Quay (VQ) (''Cidhe Bhictòria'' in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

) is a Scottish Government building situated in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, relatively close to the HRY Brittania museum ship.

History

The building was set on redeveloped dockland and housed parts of what was then known as the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

. With the advent of parliamentary devolution in 1999, these offices became part of the then Scottish Executive, now the Scottish Government. It was intended that some 1,500 civil servants would work at Victoria Quay. The building was designed by Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall, and there are some prominent nods to naval architecture in the design. Its construction began in 1993, and it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth on Monday 1 July 1996. This building launched Leith's regeneration programme proper. New luxury flats, converted bond warehouses, bistros, bars, and restaurants followed. Until Victoria Quay opened, most of these official posts were at New St. Andrew's House (NSAH) on James Craig Walk, Jeffrey Street and Brandon Street in central Edinburgh. New St. Andrew's House (NSAH) was closed in phases from 1995 to 1996 as a result of the presence of asbestos in the building, and lay empty until demolition in 2017.

References

Government buildings in Edinburgh Buildings and structures in Leith Politics of Edinburgh {{UK-gov-stub