Bid to bring stream of families to Waterfront

And the Waterfront Edinburgh initiative, which will revamp 140 acres of Granton's derelict shoreline, is also set to be delivered five years early under a new business plan.

It is understood that instead of building a raft of one and two-bedroom luxury flats at the site, the board has opted to shift the focus on to three-bedroom flats and townhouses to encourage more families into the area.

Although there will still be some two-bedroom flats, the focus of the 2900 new properties will be moved to family homes.

Even though this will bring less money from developers, it was decided that creating a community that would last on the waterfront was more important than constructing a host of smaller apartments that may never sell.

Forth Councillor Elaine Morris, who was elected to the board in May, said that it was a worthwhile move despite the financial loss.

She said: "In Edinburgh there are too many two-bedroom flats on the market so the decision was taken that we should attract larger homes. You can't get as many of these on a site so in that sense it becomes less valuable.

"But what this does reflect is the needs of the community - we need homes that people can prepare and settle down in rather than places people rest their heads."

Waterfront Edinburgh was set up by the council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian and has come in for criticism for the way it has spent money over the years. The Evening News revealed earlier this year how, under the old regime, more than 100,000 had been spent on lavish and extravagant foreign trips, parties, expensive clothes and gym equipment for senior figures. It was said at the time the spending of public money should be monitored far more closely.

Planning applications and current developments further down the coast in Leith have attracted criticism for not being aimed at families.

Cllr Morris added: "This is one of the advantages of having a company like Waterfront Edinburgh that is council-driven because, although it is a commercial venture, decisions like family housing can be taken for the best interests of the city."

Under the new business plan, which will be presented to councillors next week, the delivery of what was originally a 15-year plan will be cut to a decade, with all work to be finished by 2017.

Cllr Morris said: "It's in everyone's best interests that this is completed sooner rather than later."

Under the scale-down, Waterfront Edinburgh chiefs hope to save around 400,000 per year, and create a "Granton Village" to act as a link between "old" and "new" Granton. Improved transport links would also be focused on, while plans for a National Museums outlet and two new primary schools will remain.

Councillor Steve Cardownie, the chairman of Waterfront Edinburgh, said: "Instead of talking about massive, fancy projects which may never come to anything, we want to create something tangible and realistic that the community can actually see happening."