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Edinburgh waterfront...
Edinburgh Waterfront is a regeneration and development project comprising 300 hectares of developable land along the shores of the Firth of Forth stretching from Leith eastwards to Granton. Historically the Waterfront traditionally housed industrial activities relating to the docks at Leith, with a large area of Granton used by gas and chemical works.
Key waterfront information
Since the area was masterplanned in the early 2000s it has undergone significant change, with approximately 1,400 new homes in the Granton area and 900 in Leith, new food retail stores at both destinations, the new 3,050 square metre Telford College at Granton, and approximately 16,000 square metres of commercial office space. Telford College provides a facility which caters for 20,000 students and 600 staff.
The Scottish Government offices are based at Victoria Quay in Leith and a new shopping centre at Ocean Terminal offers 41,000 square metres of space with a multiplex cinema. Tourist attractions such as The Royal Yacht Britannia, and hotels and serviced apartments encourage visitors to Leith and over 30 cruise liners per annum stop at Ocean Terminal.
Decontamination has been carried out across Edinburgh Waterfront and land reclaimed at Western Harbour in Leith for future delivery of housing. A new road, Waterfront Avenue, has been constructed at Granton along with a 20 acre public park as part of National Grid’s Forthquarter development of 110 acres of former Scottish Gas land.
Leith is the location for the first Tax Incremental Funding (TIF) project in the UK which will deliver a new road, finger piers for berthing cruise ships and the Royal Yacht Britannia, a public esplanade allowing the development of bars and restaurants on the water frontage of Ocean Terminal, and a new lock gate to improve access to the Harbour. The £84m project has the support of Scottish Government and the first phase will start on site at the end of 2012.
Commercial and public sector partners
There are three major landowners across the waterfront area:
- Arcus European Infrastructure (who recently bought out Forth Ports and who own 60% of the developable land)
- National Grid at Forthquarter in Granton
- City of Edinburgh Council. Waterfront Edinburgh Limited, a wholly owned Council company, retains control of the development sites in Granton
- Ocean Terminal, the 41,000 square metre retail/leisure development at Leith is currently being marketed by Arcus. The centre has a 'minded to grant' planning application for an extension which will be taken forward by the new owners.
The Area Development Framework recently published by the planning authority reflects a more flexible approach to future development in terms of land uses and the retention of industrial uses, particularly in the Leith Docks area, with a focus on renewable energy. The port has been identified within the Scottish National Renewables Infrastructure Policy as a strong location for large scale manufacturing, installation activities and operations and maintenance for the renewables industry. Leith Docks has a total water area of 100 hectares and a total land area of 158 hectares with 1800m of quaysides with heavy lift capability.
Leith is also the home for research, development and manufacture of the Pelamis wave to energy marine device. A planning application is being considered by Scottish Government for a bio-mass plant at Leith Docks, along with other industrial uses relating to the renewables industry.
There are existing planning consents for 30,000 residential units across the Waterfront of which approximately 2,000 have been delivered. With the current shortage of credit funding for both developers and occupiers it is extremely unlikely that the full allocation will be delivered in the short/medium term. Landowners and the planning authority are therefore looking at the potential for alternative uses for up to 20-30 years.
The Edinburgh waterfront economy
A significantly higher proportion of the workforce of Edinburgh Northern and Leith are employed in manufacturing than in Edinburgh as a whole, while a significantly lower proportion of workers are employed in financial services. Over 40% of the manufacturing workforce of Edinburgh is employed in Edinburgh Northern and Leith.
The largest businesses by turnover based in the Edinburgh Waterfront are:
- Arcus, the owner-operator of seven ports throughout the UK, with interests in property development and renewable energy.
- Bigmouthmedia, a global digital marketing agency.
- The Tiso Group, which operates a chain of outdoor clothing and equipment stores throughout the UK.
- Raimes, Clark and Company, which operates a chain of pharmacies throughout the Edinburgh City Region under the trading name Lindsay & Gilmour.
- Tangible, a market research and strategy company.
Useful Links
http://www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com/invest/edinburgh_developments/edinburgh_waterfront/forthquarter.aspx
http://www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com/invest/edinburgh_developments/edinburgh_waterfront.aspx
http://www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com/invest/edinburgh_developments/edinburgh_waterfront/waterfront_edinburgh_ltd.aspx
http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/property
