Edinburgh’s World of Football and bowling alley are set to be bulldozed to make way for more student accommodation at the Corn Exchange- your views online

"Seems scandalous that they would get rid of these well loved facilities to build more student housing that we don’t need”

The Hanlon Stevenson Foundation have donated defibrillators to four local youth clubs – Hutchison Vale, Leith Athletic, Salvesen and Street Soccer Scotland. Hibernian duo Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon were at World of Football in Edinburgh to make the presentation. Photo by Alan Rennie

Student accommodation

Edinburgh’s World of Football and bowling alley are set to be bulldozed to make way for more student accommodation at the Corn Exchange

Kerrie Crabbe

That’s absolutely ridiculous! World of football, world of bowling and portal mini golf are all well loved family facilities that the people of Edinburgh use frequently and need more of! A quick Google search shows there to be around 25k students in Edinburgh and 20k student beds with about 5k currently under construction. Seems scandalous that they would get rid of these well loved facilities to build more student housing that we don’t need, especially at a time where a lot of courses are moving online!

Madjid Fazel-Hamedani

If there was a viable alternative for people close by to use instead then OK, bBut there isn't. How many people use the facilities on a weekly basis providing health and social benefits? How many kids will miss out on winter football because then can't train indoors? All for more student accommodation! I can't see how there is any need for more, and even if there is, surely it can be built elsewhere and retain the leisure facilities that are clearly popular and loved by so many.

Robbie Stanley

You know there's not a lot for kids or even adults in the area. They go on about keeping kids/adults fit etc, what better than them running around playing football? As for more student accommodation, why not for families who actually need accommodation that fits their families. In this day and age families should not have to share rooms (girls of 8 with boys of 12), they need privacy. Then we have homelessness. When Covid was rife we had no homeless on the streets, but yet when things are opening up ro nearly full capacity, hey ho. They are put out into terrible situations. What's happening with our country? We seem to be lying down to this. We need to be strong and fight all these issues together.

Lesley Anthony

Surely priority should go to people who are local to Edinburgh. Housing for those on the waiting lists or leisure facilities.

Amy Howard

This is crazy! Edinburgh needs amenities and entertainment for young adults and older kids - exactly what these facilities provide (or they end up drinking in parks or worse). We do not need more student flats serving cash-cow universities! Let’s not joke that the universities are proper, educational institutions any more, they are businesses, out for a profit, selling degrees.

Laura Wood

Is anyone actually happy about this announcement? Cannot believe they want people to exercise etc but they are getting rid of one of the few central based places to play five-a-side, whether you are a kid or adult. Utter joke putting the students in there over the needs of the public!

Steve Lee

This is ridiculous. How many more student flats do we really need? This is just another money making scheme to tap into the summer tourist crowd, as the flats will be let out at vastly inflated prices during the summer. Me and my mates play there every week and most of us are in our 40s, 50s and even 60s. If this place gets closed we'll have nowhere else to go and most of us will probably never kick a ball again. At a time when the Scottish government and CEC should be doing everything they can to get people active, this shouldn't be allowed to happen. But as usual CEC see pound signs.

Dani Dinwoodie

What? That’s nuts. So let’s get rid of facilities for kids and replace them with more unneeded student accommodation!

David Brown

Here’s an idea. Why not use a space outside city limits towards Livingston way, build a city full of students, then create a bus company to take them in and out of town? Everyone’s a winner.

Isobel Fraser

Why? Surely family leisure time is important. There is more than enough student accommodation .

John Keating

Why would the developers consult the public? The council don’t. As long as the developers put in loads of cycle parking, the odd planter here and there it will be passed no problem. The council can then close another care home and use the money to run a massive cycle lane into the development

Christine Mckechnie

They a building lots off house but no schools, shops, doctors surgeries or hospitals. Everywhere is overcrowded – try spending money on new roads, they are full of potholes.

Lee Picken

Not great that the Green Party councillor’s main concern is that the new build is carbon neutral - it would definitely be carbon neutral if it didn’t happen at all surely?