Granton Marina site allegations may cost Edinburgh Council millions – John McLellan

Allegations are just that before they are substantiated, but you don’t need to be Hercule Poirot to know they need investigating.

The proposals for Granton waterfront include a hotel, 1,800 homes and 427 fully-serviced marina berths

So it is with an allegation that a senior Edinburgh council officer had discussions at an international conference with a property company about entering a partnership to develop a major site owned by a private company with which the authority has been embroiled in costly court proceedings.

Arguments over the Granton Marina and hotel development have already cost the council thousands in legal fees and a new claim, that the council has deliberately sought to blight the development so it is undeliverable, could potentially cost it millions if it is substantiated.

It is unclear what the authority wants to see happen at the Marina site and in order to get to the bottom of the saga, my colleague Cllr Jim Campbell and I put down an emergency motion at last week’s council meeting, and emergency because the council only has until the end of next month to respond to a legal notice served on it.

If uncontested the council will be forced to buy the land at market value and face a further claim for compensation.

Despite the serious nature of the complaint, council leader Adam McVey dismissed it as hearsay and seemed more interested in knowing how the Conservative group found out than the allegations themselves.

Maybe he knows more than he let on, but with the assistance of the Greens and Lib Dems, coalition councillors voted to do precisely nothing. So much for openness and transparency, never mind even the slightest hint of curiosity.

Forget Hercule Poirot, call for Inspector Clouseau.

John McLellan is a Conservative councillor for Craigentinny/Duddingston

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