Scotland's first artificial surf park will be built near Edinburgh after plans were given the green light.
The Wavegarden development in Craigpark Quarry, near Ratho, will include a surf school, self-catering guest lodges, a waterfront cafe and restaurant, retail spaces, a bike skills track and a snow sports training jump.
The multimillion-pound centre will see the quarry transformed into a man-made lake by landscape architects HarrisonStevens and it is expected to create up to 130 jobs.
READ MORE: How stoned am I? New app gauges cannabis levels
Spanish company Wavegarden will install underwater technology that can create 1,000 waves per hour, from slow moving white water for beginners through to powerful barrels up to two metres high for experts.
Andy Hadden, co-founder of Tartan Leisure Ltd which is developing Wavegarden Scotland, said: "We are thrilled that the plans for Wavegarden Scotland have been approved.
"We believe that this facility will deliver many benefits for the local community and for Scotland by offering world-class adventure leisure amenities alongside a wonderful country park for walkers, runners and cyclists to enjoy.
"Another very exciting aspect is the opportunity to nurture surfing and sporting talent. With Scotland's own surfing team starting to make a mark on the global surf scene, we hope to inspire the next generation of surfers, life guards, and active outdoor enthusiasts."
READ MORE: Angela Haggerty: Mark Meechan Nazi pug case muddies waters of free speech
A similar centre, Surf Snowdonia, opened in 2015.
Mark Boyd, captain of Scotland's national surfing team, said: "Scotland's surf scene is growing and we have some exciting home grown talent breaking onto the scene.
"With surfing making its debut as an Olympic Sport at Tokyo 2020, Wavegarden Scotland will play a key role in encouraging and developing future Scottish surfers and putting this fantastic sport in the spotlight."
READ MORE: How stoned am I? New app gauges cannabis levels
Josema Odriozola, founder and chief executive of Wavegarden, said: "It's great to see that the planning application has been approved, so now Edinburgh will have its own surf spot for everyone to enjoy.
"This now means Scottish locals and tourists alike can experience the exhilarating feeling of surfing, regardless of their level."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here