The National Theatre of Scotland may find its new home to be a currently ruined country house in the east end of Glasgow.

Last night Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson accepted the original home for the company - The Bridge in Easterhouse - was not big enough to house the NTS in its current form, but insisted the search for a suitable site would remain focused on that area of the city.

It was revealed last month that the NTS was unlikely ever to move into The Bridge - indeed its core staff has never been based there, and is currently working in temporary accommodation in Glasgow city centre.

The Herald has acquired a confidential report, produced by Wynn Consulting for the Scottish Arts Council, into the future accommodation of the NTS by using Freedom of Information legislation.

It confirms that The Bridge is not suitable accommodation and suggests several alternative housing arrangements.

When the home of the NTS was announced in 2003 by the then Culture Minister, Frank McAveety, much was made of the symbolic power of the new cultural institution being sited in an area associated with deprivation - and it appears that Ms Ferguson is not keen to reverse the decision. However the report, known as a Green Book Appraisal, clearly describes the lack of space available at The Bridge and proposes four main alternative solutions, one of which includes moving the company to the CCA in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, while another proposes moving to a revamped Blairtummock House in Easterhouse.

Blairtummock House is one of only three listed buildings in Easterhouse, and lies 150m from The Bridge.

Dating back to 1721, it is in need of extensive repair, and the Greater Easterhouse Development Company has proposed restoring the building, which it says would provide 13 offices and conference rooms, at a cost of about £3m.

Last night Ms Ferguson told The Herald: "The National Theatre of Scotland remain committed to their home base at The Bridge in Easterhouse.

"They have consistently emphasised their desire to maintain and build on their relationship with The Bridge and their engagement with the community in Easterhouse.

"The Bridge does not, however, provide sufficient office accommodation to meet all of the National Theatre's needs, and the National Theatre currently uses additional offices in Hope Street.

"Easterhouse continues to be the priority for an accommodation search."

A statement from the NTS said: "The NTS Young Company has created and performed ground-breaking work at The Bridge in Easterhouse and will continue to develop this area of our work.

"We welcome the minister's positive response to the Green Book appraisal and will begin a property search within Glasgow, beginning in Easterhouse and prioritising areas of urban regeneration for future additional location."

The report details the events that led to the current situation, making it plain that The Bridge had not been designed for use by the NTS.

"It proved impossible to increase the capacity of the building sufficiently to provide the solution which the Minister Frank McAveety had originally wished, and an alternative, interim solution had to be foundthis interim solution is not adequate for the longer term."

It adds later: "The minister stated that practical issues would be discussed with the Arts Factory's local management committee' but the questions of whether and how to fill the administrative offices of NTS into The Bridge were not fully resolved."

Currently, desks in the NTS offices in the city centre are used by 25 full-time employees. The office space in The Bridge was designed to accommodate 16 desk spaces.

The report concludes that the NTS needs readily available "core rehearsal space" which at the moment it does not have.