STRIKING new images showing how a former garage site will be transformed to become part of Edinburgh's Little Venice district were unveiled today.
Developers masterminding a multi-million-pound scheme which will see more than 130 new homes built around a new mini-canal basin have offered the first glimpse of how it will take shape.
The scheme will provide a new public link between Tollcross
and Fountainbridge, effectively extending the Union Canal and the Millennium Link, which allows boat users to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Work on the gap site next to the existing Edinburgh Quay development - which boasts cafe-bars, offices, flats and serviced apartments - is hoped to start within months, subject to planning permission being secured.
Housebuilder Mactaggart & Mickel is joining forces with the developers of Edinburgh Quay on the £35 million scheme earmarked for the site of the former Arnold Clark garage at Tollcross.
Its future has been in doubt for almost two years since the Scottish Executive threw out a previous scheme following a public inquiry.
More than 120 flats, as well as restaurants, cafes, shops and offices, had been envisaged by Melford Developments, but the firm's scheme triggered protests from community groups, heritage watchdogs and Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling.
The scheme put together by the new joint venture, M&M Lochrin Limited, which involves Mactaggart & Mickel, Miller Developments and British Waterways, will involve the creation of 133 homes, 20 of which will be designed for affordable housing, along with three new shops or cafes.
The new development will be up to seven storeys high. It will be built around a mini-canal basin which will offer berthing for at least six barges, similar to the ones located at the existing Edinburgh Quay.
The plans have been drawn up by Edinburgh-based Michael Laird Architects.
Design director Jeremy Scott said: "The proposals are seen as the natural urban extension of Edinburgh Quay. They enhance the public realm with the creation of positive urban space which will be sustained by the mixed uses making the development a vibrant environment, and a real destination.
"The site is pivotal in encouraging pedestrian links with the rapidly expanding Fountainbridge area and the south of the city."
Omar Elmi, director of Edinburgh Quay Ltd, said: "Our proposals for the site will mark the next stage of regenerating the Fountainbridge area.
"Following the successful development of the first phase of Edinburgh Quay and the ongoing construction of the second phase, the Arnold Clark site offers a fantastic canal-side residential opportunity."
The Lochrin Basin dates back to the early 19th century but part of it was filled in at the start of the 20th century to allow a ropeworks to be built. The site later became home to the Arnold Clark garage.
A new style bar is on the verge of opening at the existing basin, which hosted glamorous launch parties for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Film Festival last month. Already open there are the cafe-bar Cargo, Italian restaurant Zizzi and coffee shop Beanscene.
Edinburgh Quay is the area at the end of the Union Canal, which was reopened after more than 30 years in 1998 as part of the Millennium Link project.
It is at the heart of the ongoing regeneration of Tollcross and Fountainbridge, with several developers embarking on major schemes, including the sites of the old Scottish and Newcastle brewery, which closed last year.
