New Town jewel to dazzle again with blueprint for big business

But gone are the days when Charlotte Square, Robert Adam's Georgian masterpiece, was the natural home of the capital's power-brokers.

But if a property giant, which has been buying nearby sites over the past two years, has its way, the square will again become a bustling home for the financial sector in the city.

Developers acting for a Bermuda-based investment fund say they want to turn Charlotte Square into the city's foremost business address by attracting banks, financial institutions and investment funds to newly-renovated offices.

Edinburgh-based firm Corran Properties has unveiled a 15 million scheme to transform the former headquarters of the National Trust for Scotland, which were snapped up by Fordell Estates last year for some 9m.

A brand new building will be created at the back of the existing addresses at 26-31 Charlotte Square, along with a series of covered and uncovered courtyards and underground car park.

Inside the series of former townhouses, occupied by the conservation body until November of last year, the developer proposes creating "boutique" office space which will be fitted out to the highest standards.

Corran claims the development is merely the first move in an attempt to reverse the "stagnation" of Charlotte Square over the past 20 years, which has seen an exodus of business, banking and legal firms to modern open-plan offices elsewhere in the city.

The firm has also revealed plans to join forces with the city council to improve the "public realm" of Charlotte Square by dramatically curbing traffic levels, removing unsightly "clutter", extending pavements and introducing new street lighting.

However these plans, which the developer insists it is prepared to pay for, will require the re-routing of most traffic from three sides of the square and the levelling of the steep steps between the main road and the private gardens.

Economic development leaders at the local authority said the firm's plans had the potential to create a whole new financial quarter in the capital and would help the city attract overseas investment.

However, conservationists warned the firm's plans for the former NTS HQ and the square in general were likely to run into opposition and said the developer "has a lot of work to do" to make the case for its vision.

The Scotsman revealed last year how Fordell snapped up two major chunks of property on the west side of the square, as well as the NTS site.

The purchases included offices occupied by the likes of Dickson Minto, Allied Irish, Deloitte and BNP Paribas at 13-14 and 18-23 Charlotte Square.

But the firm has since bought another property, currently lying vacant, on the north side of the square, from former Rangers FC owner Sir David Murray, just along from First Minister Alex Salmond's official residence at Bute House.

And another property may be coming up for grabs soon after long-term tenant Edinburgh World Heritage revealed plans to quit its Charlotte Square home, which is currently owned by NTS.

Plans which have just been lodged with the city council show how NTS's old headquarters would be completely overhauled and converted into modern offices. Corran has described the existing buildings as a "rabbit warren" and has warned some parts are in disrepair.

The firm said it envisaged the square becoming a "key financial trading environment for businesses of paramount international repute, revitalising the local and wider economies as well as the vitality and civic character of the immediate vicinity."

Nick Ball, a director of Corran, told The Scotsman: "The former NTS headquarters is very much the first phase of an overall vision for the square, which is about creating a high-quality environment, aimed at high-end financial services companies, investment funds, private banks and similar organisations.

"A lot of financial institutions and legal firms left Charlotte Square in the early 1990s for new offices at Saltire Court or the new Exchange district.

"The property industry has fallen out of love with the square, and that is reflected in the current rental levels, but we believe that it can regain its position as a prestigious home for the financial sector. There is no other part of Edinburgh that can offer this kind of quality."

Tom Buchanan, economic development leader at the city council, said: "These proposals are a great opportunity to create a whole new financial district in Charlotte Square. That such a high-level overseas investor is interested in this is testament to the quality of life that Edinburgh can offer.

"Clearly, these plans for Charlotte Square will have to be worked up with the council, but we are broadly supportive of what has come forward so far."

However, Marion Williams, director of the Cockburn Association, the city's main heritage watchdog, said: "There is certainly a lot of nervousness about what is being proposed.

"I think they have a lot of work to do to make the case for their plans."