Edinburgh's Waterfront
The regeneration of Edinburgh's Waterfront is one of the
largest and most ambitious projects of its kind in Europe today.
The 300 hectares of brownfield land offer a unique mix of historic
identity and new commercial, residential and recreational
development opportunities.
Three companies - Waterfront Edinburgh
Ltd, Forth Ports PLC
and National
Grid Property – are overseeing the flagship £1 billion
project, which will transform the industrial periphery of Edinburgh
into a new urban quarter for the city.
Less than 3km north of the city centre, 345 acres of brownfield
and contaminated land on the shores of the Firth of Forth are being
transformed into a landmark residential, leisure, business and
tourist destination.
Leith Docks
Leith Docks comprises Leith Harbour and the surrounding land
owned by Forth Ports Ltd. The redevelopment of the 158 hectare site
will provide up to 15,000 homes (including 3,975 affordable homes),
139,000m2 of commercial and retail space, a new marina and 35
hectares of open public space.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed between Forth
Ports Ltd., Scottish Enterprise and The City of Edinburgh Council
which will allow the three parties to explore the potential for new
industrial uses and other port related activities including tourism
at Leith Docks. Renewable energy is one sector where there
may be opportunities to attract investment, create employment and
bring prosperity to the area.
Edinburgh’s business case for a Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
pilot project has been approved by the Scottish Government. This
was the very first UK TIF project to get
approval and will help to fund £84 million of
enabling infrastructure projects in Leith. A link road
between Seafield Road and Constitution Street; will be the first of
the TIF projects to be brought forward in 2012. Other projects are
currently being reviewed and the business case updated in
line with the possible changes to land uses within the dock
area.
Western Harbour
The Western Harbour comprises 36 hectares of largely reclaimed
land owned by Forth Ports. The consented masterplan
supports 3,000 new homes (including 400 affordable homes), of
which 900 are now completed or under construction, along with
37,000m2 of new commercial and retail space. Any proposals
for changes to proposed land uses within the docks will not affect
existing proposals for Western Harbour.
Granton Harbour
Owned by Forth Ports, the 33 hectare Granton Harbour site has
consent for nearly 3,400 homes (over 500 of them affordable homes),
with 386 units completed to date. There are also plans to
develop 32,420m2 of commercial and retail space.
Granton
Within Granton there are two main landowners. Waterfront
Edinburgh Limited (a wholly owned Council company) are delivering a
Page and Park masterplan which identifies 3,000 residential units
and 135,000 square metres of commercial space. National Grid’s
Norman Foster masterplan for Forthquarter incoporates a local
centre with a supermarket, a new building for Telford College, the
Scottish Gas HQ and over 750 residential units delivered out of a
total 2,000. The 20 acre public park provides an attractive and
accessible heart to the development.
The Future
The regeneration of the Edinburgh Waterfront will ultimately
deliver over 26,000 new homes and more than 450,000m2 of new
commercial and retail space for the city. Strong investment from a
range of partners will transform the Waterfront into a world-class,
thriving urban quarter.
People from all over the city region will be able to take
advantage of new cultural and recreational opportunities. New
attractions will be magnets for the region, providing new culinary
experiences, exhibitions, festivals, musical and sporting
events.
