Ancient church will become arts base after £3m upgrade

Trinity Apse - all that remains of the 15th-century Trinity College Kirk - is to be used as a base for performances and workshops under the Scottish Book Trust's vision.

And the neighbouring Sandeman House would also be fitted with a new extension that would turn it into a performance space for intimate events.

It is hoped that the two buildings - together with the literary garden of the Scottish Storytelling Centre - will help create a major new city attraction just off the bustling Royal Mile and enhance Edinburgh's reputation as a cultural capital.

Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust (SBT), said: "The aim is to create a centre for the word in this beautiful location and for it to become the focus of a year-round programme of book-based and other cultural activity.

"The intention is we would run a programme of events that would appeal to all ages and spectrums."

Trinity College Kirk was built in 1460 at the request of Queen Mary of Gueldres in memory of her husband, King James II, on what is now the rear entrance to Waverley Station. It was demolished in the 1840s but part of the kirk - the apse - was re-erected in the 1860s on the current site at 10 Chalmers Close, to the rear of 81 High Street.

The council has owned it since the 1960s and operated it as a brass-rubbing centre in the summer months since 1989. It has agreed in principle to allow the SBT to lease it for a "peppercorn" rent of 1 a year.

"What we are doing is fitting it out for maximum public use in the 21st century," said Mr Lambert.

A new "box-like" structure will be installed within Trinity Apse that will allow seating to be flexible, so that fewer seats can be used for some smaller performances.

The extension to Sandeman House is designed to give a more visible entrance to the building that will draw people into the complex, as well as providing more space.

The main hall of Sandeman House will have a capacity of around 70, while a renovated Trinity Apse will be able to house up to 150 people.

But the project relies on gaining funding and the SBT is in the running for a 3m arts prize, with the winner due to be announced next month. If successful, the facility could be up-and-running by 2013.

Council planning officials have recommended that the plans get the go-ahead. But Marion Williams, director of heritage group the Cockburn Association, has objected to the plans. She said: "The rational, cubist modelling of the box without ornament is inappropriate for the character of the space and it should refer to the vertical nature of the gothic space in which it stands."

And the owner of a neighbouring property has objected to plans for an extension attached to her property, Moubray House, without being formally consulted.

Councillors will make a final decision at a meeting on Wednesday.