Demolition application for former car factory

By Waterfront Edinburgh : 09 May 2008

Regeneration agency Waterfront Edinburgh Ltd and development partner Buredi have applied for a Listed Building Consent to demolish the production block of  the B-listed derelict Madelvic Car Factory as part of the £1billion transformation of a stretch of Edinburgh’s waterfront.

The Madelvic factory, in the Granton area of North Edinburgh, was opened in 1898 and was believed to be Britain’s first purpose built car production unit. However the electric car it made proved unpopular and it closed in 1900.

Between 1900 and 1908, the site was owned by a number of other companies.

In 1925 it was bought by United Wire, who over the years made substantial changes to the production block, which it had used to manufacture industrial wire cloth and non-ferrous wire.

United Wire sold the site to Waterfront Edinburgh in 2000, who now use the original the handsome red brick Madelvic House – with its iconic fifth wheel symbol - as its headquarters. It is currently undergoing work to clear serious dry rot.

In 2003 Waterfront Edinburgh sold the designated 2.16acre Madelvic Works site to Buredi, a joint venture between Burrell Company and EDI Ltd, who planned the site to be a mixed-use development comprising of residential and commercial buildings.
 
Reserved matters planning permission was granted by The City of Edinburgh Council in March 2005 for the development including new build residential use over commercial use. The permission included a number of major changes to the Madelvic site including removing the flat roof on the outer blocks and the central portion between the two blocks to promote amenity space and demolishing the generator block.

Alternative uses for the site were also investigated, including an artists’ studio and commercial floor space. But these were also evaluated as being not economically viable.

Alan Couper, Head of Planning at Waterfront Edinburgh, said: “Unfortunately the production blocks, which were once rather grand buildings, are now completely derelict and an eyesore.

“The site was given B-list status for its social and historical, not architectural significance.

“This block is at the very centre of Waterfront’s development vision. It is acting as a barrier to development and although we are keen to retain the history of Granton we do not want that to hold back its future.”

Waterfront Edinburgh and Buredi have now applied to demolish the production blocks to build a mixed use development in the site and develop links between the north and south of Granton, connecting the existing and emerging communities. The application to The City of Edinburgh Council was submitted on April 25 2008.

Waterfront Edinburgh was set up in March 2000 as a catalyst for the regeneration of Granton waterfront. The scheme, one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Scotland, plans to revive some 345 acres of land to connect the city with its waterfront.

Waterfront Edinburgh – a joint venture between The City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians - owns 120 acres of land at Granton including 1.3km of land on the waterfront itself. Over the next 10 years, this land will be transformed into a new community with high quality residential, leisure, cultural and commercial developments.

A number of surrounding sites to the Madelvic land have already been sold and residential units are in place by Places for People at the Upper Strand development and George Wimpey Homes.

Categories: Press Coverage, Economic Development, Environment

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