THE site of a former indoor market which was torched in an arson attack eight years ago is set for a new lease of life as a housing development.
Council chiefs have recommended approval for plans to convert the former Relax Supermarket in Great Junction Street into flats and retail units.
The market, which included the supermarket and more than two dozen stalls and shops, was destroyed in
the September 2000 fire.
Now developer Gregor Shore has submitted plans for 30 flats and eight shops, which could be used individually or as part of a larger retail unit.
The proposed development will be five storeys high between 64-70 Great Junction Street, stepping down to four storeys at numbers 94-96.
However, despite the size of the development, there is to be no affordable housing after the council waived the need for 25 per cent of the site to be low-cost homes.
Local councillor Gordon Munro attacked the decision not to include affordable homes as part of the development.
He said: "While I understand the vagaries of the housing market, Leith still needs affordable homes.
"I will be going along to make that particular point at the committee meeting next Wednesday.
"I'm pleased to see something happening on the site. This has taken too long and that has a lot to do with some of the individuals concerned. There were disagreements that led to the arson incident and disagreements as to who owned what, when the site was levelled."
Around 25 shopkeepers and stallholders lost their livelihoods following the fire.
Robert Walker, 40, of Granton Terrace, Edinburgh, was jailed for seven years after he admitted starting the blaze. The fire followed months of rivalry over the control of the market.
In 2004, councillors asked to have the go-ahead for a Compulsory Purchase Order, effectively forcing the last remaining owner to sell their share to Gregor Shore, which already owned 34 per cent of the gap site.
But the CPO powers were not required and the council says pushing ahead with the development is now a "priority".
In his report, the council's head of planning and strategy, Alan Henderson,
recommended the affordable housing element be "set aside", given that the developers have entered into a legal agreement which allows the council to claw back some of the profits of the development, which will then be allocated to the city's affordable housing fund.
He says: "The redevelopment of this site is a priority."
Gregor Shore declined to comment on the plans. The report will go before councillors next Wednesday.
The full article contains 434 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
