MORE than 1200 objections to the sale of land at Meadowbank Stadium have been gathered ahead of a public inquiry into Edinburgh's most important design blueprint.
The city local plan lays down the rules governing how the Capital will be allowed to develop over the coming years, and the inquiry will get under way in late September.
Campaigners are hoping the level of public support to save Meadowbank will put more pressure on the council to scrap its demolition plans. They also hope to persuade the Government reporters at the inquiry that the land should be retained for sporting use only.
But city chiefs, who can ignore the reporters' advice anyway, are confident their plans will not be derailed.
The local inquiry is expected to last several weeks, with more than 650 other objections covering 182 issues at the last count. The future of greenbelt land, particularly at Edinburgh Zoo, is likely to dominate proceedings.
At Meadowbank, the council plans to bulldoze the existing stadium and sell a third of the land for housing, which it expects to bring in around £17 million. It then plans to build a £25m replacement to the east of the site.
Save Meadowbank spokesman Kevin Connor said: "The Meadowbank proposal on its own has surpassed the 656 objections for all other issues combined.
"People are very angry that the council has ignored the clear public demand for Meadowbank to be upgraded without sacrificing any of the current site and facilities.
"They object not just to housing taking over the entire site, but to housing taking over any of the site. Many are sceptical of the council's commitment to promoting health and fitness."
A council spokeswoman said only 50 objections regarding Meadowbank had been received so far, but Mr Connor said he had collected 1235 written objections, which are due to be submitted before tomorrow's deadline. However, many at the City Chambers believe the battle is already over.
One senior council source said: "Our position is that we're going to sell off part of the land and we're proceeding on that basis.
"We've been debating this for two years – all other bases have been covered."
The city local plan is designed to run until 2015, by which time more than 30,000 new homes should have been built in Edinburgh.
The blueprint will help protect the skyline and key views across the city, as well as providing guidelines for major developments such as the Granton and Leith Waterfront schemes.
Dave Anderson, the council's director of city development, said: "The future development of the city is of course of interest to many people and that's why we are having an inquiry to discuss outstanding objections."
However, he added that precise details of the sports provision for Meadowbank would not be discussed at the inquiry.
GREENBELT'S FUTURE TOP OF INQUIRY'S AGENDATHE future of Edinburgh's greenbelt is expected to be one of the main issues at this autumn's public inquiry into the city local plan.
Housebuilders are all targeting particular sites on the edge of Edinburgh and hope to persuade the two Government reporters that their sites are suitable for development. The council has agreed in principle to building 400 homes on greenbelt land, but at stake is the argument over where the best place is to build them.
Another key argument will centre on Edinburgh Zoo, where the decision to remove the potential for housing on neighbouring greenbelt land will be fought from both sides.
The development of Portobello Park for a replacement high school is also likely to come up.
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www.savemeadowbank.orgThe full article contains 607 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
