Deidre Brock MP has said today that she welcomes the decision from developers behind the Granton Waterfront to retain the Granton Castle Walled Garden as a community green space and incorporate it into their plans for the area.
The medieval garden – once a hunting lodge for James IV – looked set to have 17 new townhouses built on it, before community groups stepped in and campaigned for it to be conserved. After meeting with the groups, council-owned EDI Group who own the site agreed to retain the site as a community market garden as well as a café and shop.
Deidre supported the campaign to save and regenerate the historic garden. Commenting on the decision, the Edinburgh North and Leith MP said:
“It’s great for Granton that the future of the historic walled garden looks more secure now. The walled garden has a fascinating history but has been a wasteland for too long. We still have to see the final shape of the plans, but credit goes to EDI for listening to the community and taking on board their concerns.
“Both the Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden and the Granton Improvement Society came up with fantastic – albeit very different – visions for the use of this land. Now it looks as though there may be a way forward to retain the site and I hope everyone can work together to make sure the plans for the garden are as strong as they can be.”
“Granton needs new homes but it also needs to protect its social history and green spaces. We must all work to ensure this hidden gem of Granton is returned to its former glory for the whole community to enjoy.”
There were alternative plans for the garden which included a Garden Festival site and Lido. The Granton Improvement Society had put forward their proposals which now seem dashed.
Granton Improvement Society (GIS) told us that they received the decision today that the Directors of EDI had declined GIS’s plan for the International Garden Festival.
They went on to say that the whole project Granton on Sea had the aim of creating economic benefit through the creation of jobs, education, training and leisure and was designed to create an income to be distributed within an area blighted by deprivation for decades.
The project which has the support of hundreds of local people and beyond was to a provide a destination attractive to locals and tourists linking the City to the Waterfront.
A spokesman said: “EDI’s vague plans for the Waterfront would create only more dormitory housing without a destination or reason to use the Waterfront promenade that the council has been trying to create for the past 12 years without any success.
“GIS will pursue all avenues to overturn this dull and uninspired decision to decline the opportunity to have an International Graden Festival in a Festival City.
“EDI have no plans the create economic regeneration or sources of income for North Edinburgh through this decision beyond housing.”
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EDI directors are gavin Barrie SNP councillor, Iain whyte Conservative councillor, Gordon Munro Labour councillor and Hugh Rutherford independent professional from Montague Evans. Theses are the people who chose to let north Edinburg suffer many more years of deprivation without real jobs, train and economic benefit.
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