August 7 2018

Ambitious plans to deliver a £1.3bn innovation park on the outskirts of Edinburgh are now fully funded after £600m of City Deal capital was confirmed by the UK and Scottish governments.

A joint venture between Queen Margaret University and East Lothian Council the phased project is earmarked for 52 acres of land adjacent to the current campus, doubling as a commercial and research hub for the food and drink sector with an expanded Centre for Food Development & Innovation at its heart.

QMU principal, professor Petra Wend, said: “The offer of City Region Deal funding will now allow the University, working in close partnership with East Lothian Council, to move forward with these plans, which are expected to bring almost 1,000 new jobs to the area in the first phase alone. The additional development planned on the land around the University campus, including the construction of new housing, will mean that the University will become part of a vibrant new community within the County”.

Tangential improvements to the Edinburgh City bypass have also been backed to improve road capacity as part of a masterplan by 10 Design.

3 Comments

#1 Posted by Dave the Architecture Critic on 7 Aug 2018 at 15:29 PM

Copy and paste offices surrounded by a vast expanse of surface car parks, all located on the edge of town. Surely a misnomer?
Ah hang on - the taxpayer is subsidising this to the tune of £600M! This must be what's meant by innovation.

#2 Posted by Dave the Architecture Critic on 7 Aug 2018 at 15:39 PM

£600M for 1000 jobs = £600,000 per job. How can this be so insanely expensive. I've looked at the plans and can't see a) how it can cost so much in 1st place and b) how's it's going to repay that investment.

#3 Posted by Fareastender on 8 Aug 2018 at 13:36 PM

#2 Dave, Chinese students are pumping each uni with enough money. And more are coming. Providing nothing to the UK taxpayer at the same time.

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