Sur Mer blown out the water

An ambitious plan to create an open-air swimming pool and community arts facility at Edinburgh's waterfront has been dealt a fresh blow as it emerged that the council could sell the proposed site to a developer.

A 2 million plan by a Granton community group was proposed to turn an area close to West Shore Road into a vibrant new attraction for locals and visitors.

The "Granton Sur Mer" plan, first unveiled 18 months ago by the Granton Community Partnership and Art In Architecture, included an annual garden festival next to the 17th-century Caroline Park House which it was hoped could attract up to 250,000 people to the area.

But council chiefs are now closing in on a deal to sell the walled garden site for just over 1m to a UK private care home developer instead.

Ross McEwan, project manager with Art in Architecture, said: "The 1m now is all they will get and the local community will see nothing from that. What we would be giving over a ten-year period would be 6m. It is short-term economic madness.

"What impact would a care home have? You would have maybe 30 bed spaces, about 20-30 full-time jobs and nothing back into the local economy.

"The benefits are nil if a private care home operator owns one of the best sites in Edinburgh for only 1m."

The Granton Sur Mer scheme was to include an outdoor swimming pool created from four sea containers sunk into waste ground and filled with solar-heated sea water. Changing rooms and a snack bar were also to be created.

Mr McEwan claims that his own group's proposals would generate up to 600,000 a year through rental income from artist studios and revenue from a cafe, as well as proceeds from the garden festival.

He said that positive talks had been held with two grant-awarding bodies, while banks had expressed interest in providing funding. Any grant funding would rely on a land agreement being secured.

He said: "It is the most realistic project on the table for the Waterfront and it would not be spoiling the area with yet more blocks of mundane buildings."

A council spokesman said: "We are working closely on a number of projects aimed at continuing the regeneration of the waterfront area.

"A developer working with an established national care home operator has agreed terms for the purchase of the walled garden site and proposals are currently being drawn up."