The site for permanent memorial to Nelson Mandela in Edinburgh has been revealed as the new £850 million St James development.

The recommendation is revealed in a report by Greg Ward, Edinburgh City Council's director of economic development, that is to be considered by councillors on March 24.

The memorial to the late former South African president could be a focal point in the massive development that will include a 210-room hotel and is due to be completed in 2020 with construction work starting later this year.

The tribute to the hero of anti-apartheid could sit at Picardy Place where the tram route that is expected to be completed to Leith and which is now being costed would pass.

There is a statue of Sherlock Holmes in tribute to creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who was born in Picardy Place already there.

Festival Square was also in the running, as were other major new public spaces at the Haymarket, New Waverley and Fountainbridge developments.

Mr Ward said: "TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate), the developer behind Edinburgh St James, has agreed in principle to the creation of a lasting memorial within the curtilage of the development.

"An alternative potential location is within the new public realm being created at Picardy Place.

"However, it will not be clear whether there will be capacity at Picardy Place for a memorial until detailed designs are completed.

"An agreement will require to be reached with TH Real Estate as to a mutually acceptable location for a memorial."

It said the projected costs of a memorial are "highly variable".

A plaque, engraved stone bench or mural would likely cost several hundred or thousands of pounds, a life-sized bust would likely cost tens of thousands of pounds and a large statue or sculpture would likely cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The tribute will celebrate the city's links with Mandela who died in December 2013.

Nelson Mandela visited Edinburgh in October 1997 to attend a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

During the visit, he was awarded the Freedom of Edinburgh.

There are a number of existing tributes to Mr Mandela in Edinburgh, including The Mandela Room in the City Chambers; The Potterrow Mandela Centre at the University of Edinburgh; a plaque outside the City Chambers honouring 46664, a charity founded by Nelson Mandela to campaign about Aids; and a statue on Festival Square, Woman and Child, that commemorates Edinburgh's opposition to apartheid in South Africa.

Councillors are to decide form the lasting memorial should take.

Glasgow City Council installed a bronze bust depicting Mr Mandela in the foyer of Glasgow City Chambers in October 2014.

The sculpture, which cost £20,000, was created by Edinburgh-based Deidre Nicholls.