Waterfront regeneration - 'It is one of the keys to future prosperity'

The emergence of a "21st century New Town" on the banks of the Forth seems like a distant dream right now.

But the regeneration of the Waterfront - and the crucial jobs and homes it would provide - remains one of the keys to Edinburgh's future economic prosperity.

The pressing and troublesome question, of course, is how to achieve that at a time when Britain's building industry is struggling to get off its knees.

The only sensible approach is a pragmatic one. That is why the council leader Jenny Dawe is right to consider diverting funds earmarked for new infrastructure on the Waterfont towards bailing out the beleaguered trams project.

With 84 million at its disposal, to be borrowed against future business rates, the crucial question facing the council is what will do most to encourage private developers to start building at Leith Docks?

Is it ensuring the tram line reaches Ocean Terminal? Or is it building a shop-lined new riverside walkway, ferry and cruise ship facilities or an improved local road network? The answer may well be some combination of more than one of these answers.

But the decision must not be affected by dogma or political point-scoring about the trams. The only important thing is doing all we can to ensure that the weeds blighting the old docks do not remain the only green shoots that spring up on the Waterfront in the near future.

Jump for good cause

it has often been said you have to be crazy to take part in the Loony Dook. The name, after all, speaks for itself.

So what does it say about your faculties if you are prepared to pay for the privilege of throwing yourself into the freezing Forth to celebrate the New Year?

After 23 years as a free event, Dook organisers have introduced an entry fee this year, set at 6.

They say the only way to guarantee safety after a record 1000 people took the plunge last winter is to force Dookers to register so they can put a cap on numbers.

The entry fee is not to cover stewarding costs, which are being met by sponsors, but to raise money for the South Queensferry lifeboat.

It may seem a bit rich to pay to jump in the Forth, but at least it will be for a good cause.