The Granton illuminations could provide new hope – leader comment

Plans to illuminate the Granton gas holder could create a beacon of hope and find a much-needed new use for an iconic structure.

Councillor Cammy Day at the Granton gasometer, which he suggests could be turned into a concert hall.

The Granton gas holder – a feature of north Edinburgh’s skyline for some 120 years – may have been built for a purely practical purpose but, like so many things created with function rather than form in mind, it has a certain simple elegance.

However, for years, it has lain sadly idle, unused and neglected. It managed to survive a previous attempt to demolish it and is now a listed building, but most people would agree it would be better if a use could be found.

There was recently a suggestion that the gas holder could become a concert hall as part of wider development plans for Edinburgh’s waterfront.

And now there are plans to illuminate this iconic structure during the hours of darkness, turning it into a towering beacon and one of Scotland’s largest works of art.

Visible from miles around and to passengers flying in to Edinburgh over the Firth of Forth, it would make a striking sight.

It could just be the sort of symbol of rebirth required for an area in need of regeneration. Sometimes, symbollism can be just as practically useful as a big thing to keep gas in.