Granton marina work set to start in months

Work on a major new project at Granton Harbour worth more than £300 million to the economy is set to begin within a matter of months.
The plans would allow for a potential fast-link ferry service to and from Kirkcaldy. Picture: Ian RutherfordThe plans would allow for a potential fast-link ferry service to and from Kirkcaldy. Picture: Ian Rutherford
The plans would allow for a potential fast-link ferry service to and from Kirkcaldy. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Detailed blueprints for the new Edinburgh Marina were lodged with the council yesterday, promising 4000 homes and local employment opportunities for up to 700 people.

And developers insisted the complex would bring hundreds of millions in “inward investment” to the Capital.

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The proposals boast a 123-bed five-star spa hotel and a swathe of shopping, leisure and office space – as well as a multi-storey car park and new docks capable of berthing 400 boats.

Developers Granton Central Developments (GCD) said the site is set to be the first marina built next to a European capital city for “several decades”.

And a spokesman said if planning permission was granted, construction work for the project could begin as early as the summer.

Plans for the area include a community boatyard and improved facilities for the Royal Forth and Forth Corinthian yacht clubs.

Developers would also make room for a potential extension of the tram line to Granton and Leith, and a potential fast-link ferry service to and from Kirkcaldy.

Facilities to rival Leith Docks and accommodate cruise ships are also included in the blueprints. But community leaders have warned the proposals could bring an influx of cars to an area already struggling with traffic.

Dave Macnab, secretary of the Granton and District ­Community Council, said worries centred around the possible effects of the project on local infrastructure.

He said: “It’s the whole infrastructure that we are concerned with – particularly the residents along Lower Granton Road, who have been campaigning for years about the traffic.

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“There has always been a concern that any new development along the waterfront will affect that further.

“If they are going to build so many houses then presumably these are going to have so many cars – and it’s family homes that are being proposed. And where are the kids going to go in terms of schooling?

“We have asked questions about the infrastructure before and never really had satisfactory answers.”

The new marina master-plan marks a major downsizing from earlier proposals to develop the area – with blueprints drawn up in 2003 suggesting almost 2000 more homes for the waterfront.

A GCD spokesman said: “We are very pleased with the way in which our development plans have been supported by the local community and we look forward to starting work on this exciting project in 2015.

“We hope that Edinburgh Marina will soon be not just a gateway to Edinburgh, but a focal point of an exciting and energetic new community.”