Developers look to cash in on finance district space

Published on Saturday 14 November 2009 10:19

NEW offices, shops, public spaces, pedestrianised areas and pavement cafes are among a raft of proposals to extend the city's finance district.

ScottishPower is currently upgrading its Dewar Place substation in a move that will free up new development space in the shadow of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

It is working with other landowners in the area, including the city council, to create a pre-planning application "Exchange 2" masterplan that would bring together new developments.

One option would see a massive new office building built on the existing substation site, as well as ground-floor catering or retail units to allow outdoor dining.

A gap site owned by the city council on the corner of Dewar Place and Torphichen Street – the last remaining site in the Exchange district – has also been earmarked for development into a six-storey office block.

A ScottishPower spokesman said: "The new design (of substation] is more compact, creating extra space, which has presented an opportunity for the proposed redevelopment. All the landowner groups understand that any proposed development must enhance the area and provide genuine benefits, and we feel that our outline plans achieve these aims.

"The proposals focus on options for creating a mixed-use development that aims to complement and reinvigorate the existing uses in the area."

It is hoped that the masterplan for the 1.24-hectare site would open up a new part of Edinburgh to pedestrians through a series of interlinked streets.

ScottishPower's new substation will be built in a former workshop building at the firm's headquarters, also on Dewar Place.

The existing site will be demolished when the project is completed in 2012.

The masterplan is due to be unveiled at a series of public exhibitions at Capital Business Centre House, Canning Street, from 17-19 November.

Councillor Tom Buchanan, the city's economic development leader, said: "I am pleased to see plans developing for this prime site at the heart of Edinburgh's financial core."