Creative plan brewing for old S&N

A NEW hub for the creative industries and the performing arts is being planned on the site of a former brewing plant.

Edinburgh's canal district in the Fountainbridge area would become home to an "iconic" new cultural building as part of a drive to restore the fortunes of the former industrial area.

The former Scottish & Newcastle brewery has been lying empty for more than five years after being shut down by the brewing giant.

But now a huge chunk of land at the end of the Edinburgh-Glasgow canal link could become home to performers, artists, designers, computer gaming experts and architects.

The plan has been drawn up months after research found Edinburgh was the UK's second top location for the creative industries outside London.

It is thought the new cultural quarter in Fountainbridge would include major indoor and outdoor performance areas. The concept has been created as part of plans being discussed between the city council, the Lloyds Banking Group and British Waterways for the site.

The site was snapped up by HBOS two years ago after a fierce bidding war, but plans to create a major new office complex were put on hold by the banking crisis. A new masterplan for the site is also thought to include provision for a hotel, offices, shops, student flats and a waterside park.

Leith's docklands were previously touted as a potential hub for the creative industries, including a long-awaited "centre for the moving image" capable of hosting events for the film festival. However, The Scotsman has learned the focus has now moved closer to the city centre, with officials keen to kick-start the regeneration of Fountainbridge with the creative hub.

Tom Buchanan, the city council's economic development leader, said: "Edinburgh's creative sector is one of our most important and yet least understood economic assets."