HORRIFIED residents today hit out at developers after a piece of parkland used as a play area near their homes collapsed because of a building blunder.
Council engineers and developers have held emergency talks after work on an underground car park caused the land above to cave in.
The former parkland in Telford Road, Craigleith, was popular with local children and residents, who used it for bar
becues and as a children's play area.
Builder Treetops Development Company fenced off the land to build an underground car park which will support a block of flats that is being erected by the firm nearby.
Bosses promised to reopen the park as soon as the car park was finished - but a building fault has caused the land to slip and crumble into the hole made for the car park.
They have promised to reinstate the parkland again once they have sorted out the problem and make it better than before.
But residents today said they were furious at the loss of an important community site and expressed doubts that it would be rebuilt.
William Morton, 53, of Telford Road, said: "We're not happy. That land was very important to the community and now it is gone. It's going to be seriously missed."
His neighbour Mel Patey added: "It's such a shame the land is totally disappearing, it's falling away before our very eyes.
"It's bad enough that flats are being built so near to our homes and this car park is being created, but Treetops Development should not have encroached on that land."
The residents' homes back on to the land, which has been sealed off for 18 months while the car park has been under construction.
However, bosses at Treetops say that despite the recent damage they will still reopen it in as good a condition as it was before they arrived.
Project co-ordinator Craig Proudfoot said: "As well as those homes the land has a boundary with a fire station. We have carried out extensive landscape gardening at the station as a gesture of goodwill.
"Before, that land was derelict, now it is full of beautiful plants."
He added: "Both ourselves and council engineers have been down to the site to have a look at it. It is clear that part of the topsoil has slipped away.
"The residents are clearly unhappy about this and we are looking to find an amicable solution, which will cause minimal disruption, as quickly as possible.
"We just want to sort it out as quickly as we can. Hopefully we can do it in the space of a few days.
"That is likely to involve a temporary sheet metal structure being built to hold the remaining land in place while the car park is built underneath."
Treetops has been urged to solve the problem as soon as possible by Craigleith Councillor Iain Whyte.
"It appears that when they were digging they managed to pull away some earth, and then more land subsided.
"It's my understanding that they were not expecting this. The company must now take action to restore it."
Cllr Whyte added: "Clearly it is the responsibility of Treetops to put the land back and I would urge them to do so as soon as possible."
The full article contains 568 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
