On the Waterfront
The council has Granton firmly in its sights to become an exemplar of sustainable development, all within the goal of making Edinburgh a net zero carbon city by 2030.
Plans for a £1.3billion development including 3,500 homes, of which just over a third will be affordable homes, a cultural quarter, the iconic gasometer, commercial and retail space alongside cultural attractions and a coastal park linking Granton Harbour to Gypsy Brae are now making their way through the council processes.
£200 million of council funding will be used for the affordable housing alone, and Edinburgh Council will work with other partners like The Scottish Government to put forward a case for Granton.
This will be a whole new eco-friendly area on the city's largest brownfield site exetending to 40 hectares.
The Depute Leader of the Council Cammy Day has a particular interest in this project as he represents the ward in the North of the city. He flagged up to us some of the exciting things that will happen this year - although the timeline for the whole project is somewhat longer. It may well take a decade for this to come to fruition.
Cllr Day explained : "This puts forward a plan for investing in Granton Waterfront developing thousands of new homes including affordable homes,
"In the coming months we will light up the gasometer with some help from Edinburgh College students.That will be a beacon that says Granton is open for business. We will be taking this plan with us to MIPIM in March to promote it to people interested in investing in the city. I hope it evidences a need for better public transport in the form of the final part of the tram line 1(b). It will bring a huge mix to that part of the city which has lain empty for a decade or more.
"We have put aside money from the Town Centre Fund to redevelop the Caroline Park Railway Station right in front of the Scottish Gas building. That was part of the purchase that the council made."
The outline proposals were approved by councillors and will now progress through planning. The council bought the former Granton Gasworks frm National Grid
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