Ailing marina needs £2m injection to remain afloat

A CRUMBLING marina in the Capital needs at least £2 million spent on it just to keep it open beyond 2015, it has emerged.

The Port Edgar Marina and Sailing School was in line for a 14 million revamp, including new piers, training rooms and a big increase in the number of berths.

But the plans bit the dust when city council chiefs and bosses at Edinburgh Leisure, which manages the facility, failed to attract a developer to carry forward the plans.

Now it has emerged that cash-strapped Edinburgh Leisure needs to find at least 2m in the next four years to carry out essential maintenance to keep it open.

Bosses at the leisure firm are now set to launch talks with a range of organisations that may be able to provide funding for the work, such as Scottish Enterprise, as well as private investors.

Graeme Gardiner, head of Port Edgar Marina, said: "Port Edgar Marina and Sailing School is a vital resource for developing the sport of sailing to all groups and watersport enthusiasts, and we want to ensure that it remains a leisure resource for the city."

Edinburgh Leisure has already pledged to replace a crane at the marina and provide 24 new berths over the course of this financial year.

But in a new council report, director of corporate services Jim Inch said: "The purchase of a new 20-tonne crane at approximately 222,000 and the investment in 24 new berths will not address the fact that the existing pontoon network has a remaining useful life of between three and five years.

"To maintain a functioning marina of the existing scale beyond 2014/15 will require a minimum additional investment of circa 2m between 2011/12 and 2014/15. This investment would replace existing elements of the existing infrastructure on a like-for-like basis, including the existing break- water."

He added: "Neither the council nor Edinburgh Leisure has this level of capital funding at this time."

But any expansion is likely to be significantly smaller than the original scheme, which was postponed because of the current economic climate.

The city council had drawn up a shortlist of three companies that could take its vision for the South Queensferry marina forward.

But one firm pulled out and the other two said they cannot do anything until the economic conditions strengthen.

Councillor Deidre Brock, the city's culture and leisure leader, said: "We had hoped that the property market would improve, but it is still very difficult.

"Edinburgh Leisure is looking at a broader expansion plan and there is a requirement to invest more money in Port Edgar.

"I find it very disappointing that we couldn't proceed with this plan. But this is a fantastic asset to the city with such potential, so we need to keep working at finding a (funding] solution."