Funky beachfront plan is non-starter - John McLellan

A draft masterplan for up to 2700 homes goes to the planning committee for approval next week, but the chances of anyone reading this living to see its completion are slim.

An artist's impression of the Seafield masterplan which includes housing, a waterfront park and continuous promenade.

The problem, which the council was reluctantly forced to accept by the Scottish Government earlier this year, is most of the land is not available because the owners are quite happy with the revenue they receive from the current businesses on the site and have no plans to sell. And of the areas in public ownership, like the bus depot and recycling centre, alternative facilities would need to be found elsewhere.

The only answer is a vastly expensive and complex compulsory purchase programme, illustrated by another report which shows that even securing land the council does own in Meadowbank is not straightforward if there are leasing agreements.

There are other problems, like turning Seafield Road into a pleasant boulevard when it’s a main industrial route to the Port of Leith, set to get busier thanks to the Green Freeport plan, and dealing with flooding and sea storm risks. And there’s the infamous Seafield stink from the sewage plant.

The best that can be said about the scheme is some of it might be realised if individual sites become available, and it provides a framework for any future development. Until then, it’s a dust-gatherer.