Westbank Street Development

Overview

Background

Land at Westbank Street in Portobello is being sold. This land is currently used by Powerleague for five-a-side football. Powerleague hold a long-term lease on this land and have informed the Council that they do not wish to continue operating their business at this site. The Council owns the land and has agreed to sell it, jointly with powerleague.

What will happen to Powerleague

Powerleague want to close their business at Westbank Street because it is no longer financially viable. Powerleague's lease with the Council will expire in 2088.

They first contacted the Council about selling the site in 2004 and developers were interested in the site, but the sale could not be competed due to the downturn in the housing market that accompanied the financial crash. Powerleague contacted the Council again in January 2015 to arrange sale of the site.

As Powerleague do not wish to operate their business on the site anymore, the five-a-side pitches will be removed and will not be replaced.

What will happen to Tumbles

Some developers are interested in acquiring the Tumbles site in addition to the Powerleague site. Edinburgh Leisure – which is a wholly-owned arms-length management company that runs the city’s public sport and leisure facilities – operates Tumbles.

There are two options for what will happen to Tumbles.

• One – Tumbles will not be sold and will remain in its current location. The location of the Tumbles car park may change to another location on the site, but the same capacity (50 spaces) will be retained.
• Two – Tumbles will be sold and the current building will be removed, but a new facility will be created within the existing site. This new facility must completely replace all of the existing functionality of Tumbles, and will also need to provide 50 car parking spaces for exclusive use by Tumbles customers. If Tumbles were relocated, there would be no loss of amenity.

Tumbles may be relocated on the site in this way because the land next to Portobello Beach is considerably more valuable than the land elsewhere on the site.

What is going to happen to the site

Any actual development on the land will still be subject to planning permission.

Following public feedback, all developers will be invited to revise their proposals to take into account community views.

What will happen to the money raised from the sale

Money from the sale will be split between the lease-holders (Powerleague) and the land-owner (the Council). All money the Council receives from the sale will go towards the development of the new Meadowbank Stadium.

Why your views matter

Portobello Community Council and Portobello Amenity Society have asked for the local community to be involved in the decision about what criteria the Council should use to make the decision about who the land will be sold to. We’re conducting eight focus groups with local residents to help us understand how people feel about the various options.

We have also created this survey as a way of collecting the views of the wider Portobello community.