City of Edinburgh Council has unveiled plans for a multimillion-pound development on the city’s waterfront.
The scheme would see new roads, piers and esplanades being built for a mixed-use development on the site of the city’s former docklands.
Edinburgh is competing against other UK cities to become a government-backed accelerated development zone (ADZ).
Giving evidence to the House of Commons all-party committee on urban development, the council’s director of city development, Dave Anderson, said the recession had significantly affected the plans, and a funding gap for infrastructure stood at £459M.
He explained that raising £50M from potential incremental tax flows of £311M was ‘prudent and workable’. This initial injection would provide the finance for a new Easter Harbour Road, a pier, lock gates and an esplanade along Leith Docks to complement the new marina development. ‘We are confident that the fundamental strengths of Edinburgh’s economy and the locational attractiveness of the city will help secure the necessary, long-term growth to repay the sums borrowed,’ he said.
If the plans are backed by Whitehall, it is hoped the project could go out to tender next year, with work beginning by 2011. ‘The aim of the major regeneration plans for Leith Docks is to achieve carbon neutral development,’ Anderson added.
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