World trade site is centre of attention

The site at Eastfield Road, Ingliston

The development, which would help boost Edinburgh's international reputation and could employ more than 1000 people in a landmark building, is part of a new masterplan currently being drawn up for land between the airport and the A8.

A giant concert arena, conference venue and two upmarket hotels would also be created under the new "business cluster" vision drawn up by council chiefs for the site just east of Eastfield Road.

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The city council already owns a licence from the World Trade Centre Association (WTCA) which gives it the right to create such a facility in the city and believes the site close to the airport and the global HQ of RBS is ideal.

Business leaders say the plans could help bring millions of pounds of new investment into the city, but warn that the complex land ownership situation could mean it would take years to make the vision a reality.

Councillor Tom Buchanan, the city's economic development leader, said: "For a considerable period of time we have held a licence to establish a world trade centre in Edinburgh. In discussion with the world trade centre operators at (international trade fair] MIPIM, they encouraged us to take a greater role in this because they have always seen this as a city that could have a world trade centre."

The WTCA licence was bought in 2001 by the council-owned Waterfront Edinburgh Limited (WEL), which originally wanted to create the centre in Granton. It was purchased for 100,000 and annual dues of 5000 have been paid ever since, with the licence being inherited by the council.

Ownership of the licence would be reassigned when a developer agrees to take the scheme forward.

Cllr Buchanan added: "The world trade centre licence we hold was originally for the Waterfront area and originated from a previous administration, so we will now have to get a report from officers on what the benefits for the city would be.

"Developments that work in clusters are a greater boost than individual schemes, so we would see the potential of getting great economic advantage from this."

As well as the trade centre, council chiefs are also exploring the possibility of creating a concert arena that would double up as a conference centre on the site.

It would finally bring an end to a long-running hunt for a venue in Edinburgh that can attract similar concerts and conferences as Glasgow's SECC.Cllr Buchanan said: "We have had a number of operators talk about Edinburgh getting a multi-purpose venue that can take 6000-10,000 seats that is built in such a way that it cannot just be used for one concert but can be broken up.

"Edinburgh needs additional function space of this type. If you want to attract world acts you need facilities that can hold enough people to make it financially viable."

There are more than 300 world trade centres in the world, including two in the UK in Belfast and Hull.

While the centres vary significantly in size and scale, it would be hoped that the Edinburgh World Trade Centre could challenge some of the bigger centres in cities such as Mumbai, Barcelona and Stockholm.

Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "It is a brand and it is an expensive licence, but they can become real centres for world trade, usually supported by a significant number of public buildings as well.

"You have got to attract significant public sector interest for something like this as well. If you could persuade the United Nations to put some of its activity in it, or other major public activity, then it would help build up the trade and business in there.

"If you have these types of things together, including hotels, you could quickly establish business support services and that is an area we have wanted to see developed for some time.

"It could only add to the value of the city, although getting developers to take this kind of speculative development on could be difficult."

He also said that any development would take time because of the complex land ownership in the area.

One of the major landowners is New Ingliston Limited (NIL), based at Gogar Mains Farm Road, which owns 240 acres of land at the site adjacent to Edinburgh Airport.

Smaller chunks of land are also owned by Sir David Murray's Premier Property Group and Frogston Developments.

Once a masterplan is drawn up, the council is likely to attempt to get developers to take forward the plan themselves or sell on to another developer.

Nobody at NIL was available to comment, although its website confirms that it owns 240 acres of land and intends to create an "international business district" on the site.

Famous name synonymous with tragedy

THE name "world trade centre" will always be synonymous with the New York Twin Towers, destroyed during the September 11 terror attacks of 2001, but there are more than 300 official world trade centres (WTCs) across the world, overseen by the not-for-profit and non-political World Trade Centre Association (WTCA).

WTCs have been described as "business shopping centres" that bring together businesses and government agencies involved in international trade under one roof. They are said to attract new business, boost trade and stimulate economic growth.

Each world trade centre offers members services such as temporary office space and video conferencing that can be accessed at any other WTC in the world. They also help secure trade fairs and conferences.

The 300-plus centres operate in more than 90 countries and serve 800,000 businesses.

Hull is the only UK city to have a permanent world trade centre, although Belfast has a temporary centre and one is planned in London. To get a licence for a WTC, a city needs to pay a 100,000 one-off fee, then annual dues of 5000 to the WTCA.