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Edinburgh Waterfront
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Announcements up to 2005
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Proposals - 2003
Waterfront Edinburgh is the name given to 346
acres of derelict industrial land on the shore of the Firth of Forth from
Granton Harbour to the west, taking in a large area of old gas works.
There are plans to redevelop this area over
several years, creating:
- a 650 berth marina and canal
- a World Trade Centre (Feasibility Study
commenced)
- a campus for Telford College
- a leisure centre
- a primary school
- 6,500 homes
- cafes, shops, restaurants
- offices
- industry.
These developments are to extend over 15 years.
Plans were recently [20 May 2003]
announced for the first 500 homes, to be built on reclaimed land that was
formerly part of Western Harbour, Granton.
Work has already begun. One of three large
gasometers has been demolished, a second gasometer is to be demolished
soon. The third one has been 'listed' so will remain - its future
use not yet decided. |
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Current Work
Many of the old derelict buildings on the site
have been demolished, and the site made more level in the early months of
2003.
One of the three large gasometers was dismantled in early 2003,
and a new office for Scottish Gas built close by.
Work has begun on construction of Telford College towards the
south-west corner of the site.
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Sports Complex
Proposals were announced in July 03 to construct a new £150,000
indoor "extreme sports" complex for skateboard, inline skating and BMX
cycling
enthusiasts on the 30,000 sq. ft. site of the former wireworks factory at
Granton. This project, which is being proposed by a new group named
Edinburgh Wheels, has still to receive formal approval, but is said
to have the support of Waterfront Edinburgh.
Update - October 2003
The original proposals to create this
sports centre on the site formerly used by United Wire Works at Granton
Park Avenue (part of the Waterfront development) now seem unlikely to go
ahead. The building is likely to be used for other purposes.
[Edinburgh Evening News: 14
October 2003, p.8]
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Waterfront Transport
A new tram route is planned, creating a loop from
Waterfront to Leith to central Edinburgh. It is hoped that the first
services will operate in 2009. |
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Leith Developments
Other areas of Edinburgh along the Firth of Forth
are also being developed. Leith has been transformed over the
last decade.
Recent developments
within Leith Docks include:
- hotels
- sports complex
- Scottish Office (for Scottish Parliament)
- Shopping Centre and Multi-Cinema (Ocean Terminal)
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Edinburgh Evening News
20 May 2003, p 5
Edinburgh Evening News 9 June 2003,
pp.14,15
and other miscellaneous sources. |
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Telford College
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Telford College is seeking planning permission to
build a new college on a 110 acre site at the Waterfront, for 20,000
students and 600 staff. This will replace its four existing campuses
in Edinburgh.
Planning consent is being sought on 10 September
03. If granted, construction is scheduled to begin in December 03.
The plan includes sports facilities, open to
public use, and a "bubble roof" similar to that on the Eden Project in
Cornwall, a wilderness garden and wind powered generators. |
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Edinburgh
Evening News 8 September 2003, p 3 |
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Waterfront Avenue
and
Saltire Square |
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The first major road through the Waterfront site,
Waterfront Avenue, was opened on 18 Jun 2004. The road leads:
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from West Harbour Road beside the old lighthouse
[Waterfront, north-east]
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past the newly created Saltire Square with its sculpture of a family,
titled "Going to the Beach"
This sculpture was cast at Powderhall Bronze, Edinburgh.
Their name appears on a satchel being carried by one of the figures.
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past the new impressive gates to Caroline Park
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past the new Scottish Gas Offices
- towards the area where Telford
College is being built beside West Granton Road
[Waterfront, south-west] |
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Waterfront Island Hotel
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Proposals were announced on 5 October 2004 for
creating a nine-acre teardrop-shaped island in the Firth of Forth to the
north of the one remaining gasometer, connected to the shore by a
causeway.
The island would
include:
- a 30-storey tower to include a hotel,
flats and shops.
- a man-made beach and a small harbour.
- a park and town squares.
This proposal is still at a very early stage.
Here is an artist's impression of how the island
might appear
©
[Further proposals announced in June 2005
still envisage this island being created.]
Evening News 5 October 2004,
page 3 |
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See
'News from 2006'
for an update of these proposals |
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Eco-Tower
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The Edinburgh architects, RMJM have announced
proposals to build a £21.5m Eco-tower on land immediately to the west of
Granton Harbour, as part of the Edinburgh
Waterfront development. William Waugh's scrap yard is at present
on this site.
The scrap yard, today
©
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RMJM worked in partnership with Eric Miralles on
the design of the new
Scottish
Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh that opened in 2004.
© |
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The Eco-Tower would comprise:
- two 85 metre high towers
- almost
fifty wind turbines slung between the towers to generate electricity.
The concept of designing
new buildings around renewable energy has been welcomed, though some have
questioned whether or not the time and place are right for this proposal.
The proposal is currently at an early stage.
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Evening News 5 March 2005,
page 3 |
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Update
- October 2007
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The
Eco-Tower is not now to go ahead.
Instead,
it is proposed to build 143 "low cost" flats on the site. |
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Long-term Plans for Leith - June 2005 |
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Architects, RMJM, announced further plans, on 30
June 2005, for the development of Leith Harbour. Long-term plans
would result in the size of Leith doubling over the next twenty years.
They
include:
- nine waterfront villages, each with a
landmark building, linked by a fleet of water taxis
- 18,000 homes, including a 40-storey
complex - Scotland's tallest skyscraper - beside Ocean terminal.
- around 120 apartments built on small
islands, each with space for a boat underneath.
- an international cruise liner terminal at
the western peninsula.
- a gallery at the western peninsula.
- doubling the size of Ocean Terminal
shopping centre.
- a 5,000-seater arena beside Ocean
Terminal.
- an outdoor theatre in Alexandra dry dock.
©
- a Tate-style contemporary art gallery on
the edge of docklands.
- a new public park and beach at the
Martello Tower.
- Martello Tower (
built, 1809) to be opened to visitors.
- Leith Links extension by a third, to
include new sports fields, and a new green link to the shore.
Planning permission has not yet been sought for
these developments.
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Evening News 30 June 2005,
pp.1-3 |
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Long-term Plans for Granton - June 2005 |
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Developers
Long-term plans for a 120 acre site at Granton, amounting to over
£1bn, were announced in June 2005 by Waterfront Edinburgh, one of
three developers responsible for development of the Waterfront. The
other two developers of the Waterfront are:
- Forth Ports Authority (developers of
Granton Western Harbour)
- SecondSite
(developers of land further west, including Telford
College).
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Timescale
Waterfront Edinburg believe that most
of the proposed developments could be completed within the next ten years
and have set out a schedule of developments including:
- 2005-08 with developments in
Granton Western Harbour and the land to the south of the harbour.
- 2011-14 development on a new island
in the Firth of Forth to the west of Granton Harbour.
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Proposals
by Waterfront Edinburgh
Proposals announced by Waterfront Edinburgh in June 05
included:
- over 5,000 new homes.
- a new cultural hub, including an international
standard theatre complex.
- Granton lighthouse to be converted into a
Conference Centre with performance space.
©
- a major new museum or art gallery.
- a new teardrop-shaped island connected to
the mainland by a causeway, to house a world-class hotel, two other hotels
and an upmarket shopping arcade.
Waterfront Edinburgh intend to seek planning
permission in September 05 for their proposals.
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Other
Proposals for Granton
Other proposals for the Waterfront include:
- a new Head Office for Scottish Gas
[development completed]
- Telford College
[development well underway]
- a further 6,,000 new homes on SecondSite
and Forth Ports land.
- supermarkets, shops and offices.
- an underground shopping mall
[where?].
- a public park the size of Leith Links.
- a new marina in Granton Western Harbour
- a network of canals and walkways with a
hundred sculptures and other works of art.
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Evening News 16 June 2005,
pp.2-3
Evening News 30 June 2005,
pp.1-3 |
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Forthquarter Development |
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A New
Park
Further plans were announced on December 8, 2005
for developments at the Forthquarter site, the most westerly of the
Edinburgh Waterfront sites. The proposals include:
- a new 110 acre park with small
loch, a burn and a wildlife area. The park will be on the site of the
former gas works, beside the new Telford College, which is due to be
officially opened in summer 2006.
The park is to be the size of ten football
pitches. i.e. about half the size of Leith Links.
Landscaping work on the park is now almost
complete, though the park is due to be sealed off until it is officially
opened to the public in summer 2006.
- a Morrisons supermarket, 70,000 sq ft of
office space, 2,000 new homes, shops, bars, restaurants and a hotel.
- a major transport interchange to be
sited beside the new Scottish Gas building - due to coincide
with the launch of the new tram network in 2010.
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Evening News December 8, 2005,
p.11 |
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