A new park has been officially opened in Edinburgh as part of the £1.3 billion regeneration of Granton Waterfront.
The Gasholder 1 Park sits within the completely restored gasholder with views over the Firth of Forth.
Council leader Jane Meagher was joined by minister for employment and investment Tom Arthur, representatives from main contractor McLaughlin & Harvey, and volunteers from Granton Hub and members of Pianodrome, Scran Academy and Craigyroyston Youth Football Club to mark the occasion ahead of a family fun day and ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday 5 April.
The entrance of the park is marked with large ‘Hollywood-style’ lettering. Six different zones – including three play areas – are featured, as well as plenty of outdoor space to explore and an inner ring walk going round the outer edges of the frame with places to sit and relax. An outdoor exhibition has also been created which showcases the history of Granton gasworks as well as the restoration process.
The 1.2-hectare park, set within the restored gasholder frame, was created using £1.2 million from the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme. This work followed refurbishment of the frame as well as removal of the historic bell using funding from the UK Government.
Graham Brown, senior contracts manager at McLaughlin & Harvey, said, “Gasholder 1 Park was a unique restoration project to deliver for the City of Edinburgh Council. In deconstructing the old bell, refurbishing the listed steel structure, and repainting the frame, we have solved complex engineering challenges.
“The ribbon cutting ceremony is a brilliant opportunity for McLaughlin & Harvey to celebrate the vast civil engineering experience of our team as well as the success achieved in our collaboration with our client and supply chain partners.”
