Edinburgh’s Gyle shopping centre set to transform in £500m plans
Edinburgh’s Gyle Shopping Centre looks set for a radical facelift to become a major ‘urban quarter’ thanks to an investment of £500 million.
The 1990s-built shopping mall and its surrounding car parks would be transformed over the next ten years under the plans announced today.
The shopping centre would be completely modernised – allowing existing tenants including Marks & Spencer and Next to introduce new concept stores – and around 1,000 homes would be built on the site under the new vision.
Central to the plans is a new high street leading from the tram stop to the existing shopping complex. So, instead of walking through a car park visitors would stroll along a new pedestrian-friendly street with shops on the ground floor and flats and offices above them.
The new residents and people visiting a much wider range of facilities on offer on the site would make the Gyle much more active right around the clock.
The idea is that it would act as a local high street for much of west Edinburgh, providing a focal point for existing residents and many of the 40,000 people who are expected to move into the area due to the large amount of housebuilding planned in the area. It would also include community facilities, such as a library, gym and GP surgery.
Development managers Bankfoot APAM have announced a consultation on the blueprint which represents a radical departure
from previous plans to extend the centre.
Marks & Spencer recently renewed its foodhall in the centre with several new features and the developers are talking to them and the other tenants about introducing cutting-edge concept stores.
That opens up the likelihood of more click and collect and showroom-style stores at The Gyle, similar to the St James Quarter in the city centre.
The Gyle was originally
opened in 1993 and was extended soon after.
The previous owners had brought forward plans for small extensions for new retail units and a cinema, but these were rejected last year by Edinburgh city council.
West Edinburgh is undergoing major expansion with up to 18,000 homes due to be built, adding up to 40,000 new residents to the area.
To serve the growing community, the concept being
put forward by developers is to create a new town centre where people will live, work, shop and enjoy their leisure time in one of the most sustainable communities in Scotland.
The initial ideas reflect the fact that while The Gyle was once at the fringe of Edinburgh, it is now at the heart of one of Scotland’s fastest growing residential and commercial districts.
In line with the city’s sustainability
goals, there is also a plan to offer electric car charging points.
The consultation will begin in the coming weeks and continue over the summer. A planning application is expected to be submitted in the autumn.
It is estimated that the full regeneration of The Gyle will take around ten years, but will occur in phases without closing the centre.