A MOVE to partly demolish and rebuild a shopping centre in the Scottish capital has taken a step forward.
A detailed planning application has been submitted to City of Edinburgh Council for the reconfiguration of Ocean Terminal.
The application represents the first phase of a £100 million masterplan to transform the 20-year-old shopping centre, opening up the Leith waterfront and creating a new community-led complex "which prioritises the people who live and work in the area".
As part of the plans the north end of the existing centre, site of former Debenhams and a car park, will be demolished and a new frontage constructed, with retail and hospitality units looking out on to new public realm.
The plans lodged by the centre’s Scottish owners, Ambassador Group, follow extensive consultation, including two public exhibitions, which the developer said have shown “strong support for the new vision for the area”.
Detailed plans for phase two, the construction of a mixed-use development comprising a range of housing, commercial units and public realm with a new walkway and cycle tracks along the water line, will be submitted later in the spring.
The new layout and design will open up views, including new aspects on to Royal Yacht Britannia, providing waterfront seating areas and creating an unobstructed promenade along the water's edge, the Glasgow-based owner, who bought the centre in 2020, said.
Chris Richardson, managing director of Ambassador Investments, which as a team has backed several major regeneration projects across Scotland before focussing on Ocean Terminal, said the facility has an "exciting future”.
He said: “Throughout the consultation we have been encouraged by the hugely positive reaction to our plans.
“There is a real understanding that the centre needs to change and our vision that maximises the centre’s unique waterfront location and fully embraces sustainability best practice has resonated strongly with those we have met.”
READ MORE: Edinburgh Ocean Terminal revamp
Mr Richardson also said: “Ocean Terminal plays a key part of Leith’s current regeneration, and the submission of the detailed planning application brings us another step closer to creating a destination for shopping, relaxing, working and living that meets the needs of local people.
“The proposed redevelopment will happen carefully in distinct phases to ensure a smooth realisation of the vision.
"That includes a focus on continuity and consistency for existing tenants and other users of Ocean Terminal, while plans are put in place. Ocean Terminal has a very exciting future.”
First opened in 2001, Ocean Terminal currently occupies three floors and 420,000 square feet of leisure, hospitality and retail units.
READ MORE: Hotel plan for shopping centre redevelopment
Its tenants include M&S, Vue Cinema, H&M, Boots, Nando’s and Pizza Express, employing more than 625 on-site.
The centre includes on-site car parking, but with the shift towards greener and active travel, it is now also on the cycle network and will be a key stop on the new Trams to Newhaven tramline.
The reinvention of Ocean Terminal comes as other malls from a similar era look to the future.
Earlier this year Land Securities unveiled proposals to demolish the Buchanan Galleries shopping destination in Glasgow and replace it with a "mixed-use urban neighbourhood", comprising shops, homes, hotel accommodation and hospitality outlets.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel