Sir David Murray plans stadium and 3,500 homes

A SPORTS stadium, 3,500 new homes and a visitor attraction are set to be developed near Edinburgh Airport under a £1 billion planning bid proposed by Sir David Murray.

Sited on 600 acres of greenbelt land near the airport, the development – christened "Garden District" – would be built over the next 20 years.

The sports village would have an athletics stadium for 25,000 spectators while it could also be the base for a national curling academy.

People living there would be encouraged to grow their own fruit and vegetables and everyone would be within five minutes' walk of a bus or tram stop.

It would have a high school, two primaries, shops, a library and medical centre to make it a self-sufficient community.

The centrepiece would be the Calyx, a visitor attraction inspired by the Glasgow Garden Festival.

Sir David, one of Scotland's richest men with a controlling stake in Rangers, hopes it will be so attractive to the council that it will remove the greenbelt status that currently blocks the development.

Sir David, who bought the land – which has had an extension to the M8 built through it – in 1989, said it will provide a "lasting legacy" for Edinburgh.