Edinburgh's historic Granton gas holder is first visit for new Scotland Office minister

Edinburgh’s historic Granton gas holder is first visit for new Scotland Office minister

New Scotland Office minister Donald Cameron has made his first official visit – to Edinburgh’s historic Granton gas holder, which is being restored as the centrepiece of a new public space in the regeneration of the waterfront.

The former Highlands Tory MSP was plucked from the Scottish Parliament just two weeks ago to join Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and minister John Lamont in the UK Government’s Scottish team.

And on his first day out and about in the new role he was in Edinburgh to visit projects being funded as part of the UK’s levelling up strategy. He climbed to the top of the 140ft Granton structure to see progress and said it was “fantastic”.

The restoration of the 123-year-old gas holder, which used to be one of 12 gas storage tanks for the greater Edinburgh area, is part of the city council’s £1.3 billion regeneration of Granton Waterfront, which will include thousands of new homes.

The gas holder project was awarded £16.5 million by the UK Government in the first round of Levelling Up funding in 2021.  The structure has now been out of use for over 20 years, but remains as a symbol of the Capital’s industrial past. It is due to become the focal point of a new Gasholder Park, which will include space to host outdoor events. Work is due for completion early 2025.

The new minister, set to become Lord Cameron of Lochiel, said: “The UK Government has funded £16.5m directly geared to the gas holder project. It’s tremendous to see the UK Government working in a local community towards a project that will benefit that local community. It’s practcial example of how the UK Government is working locally in Scotland.”

There has been criticism over the operation of the UK “levelling up” policy in Scotland because the projects involved are often in devolved areas of responsibility and yet there is no consultation with the Scottish Government over the awarding of funding.

But the minister said: “This to me is devolution in action. It’s the UK Government doing what it should be doing, which is working with local authorities and by extension with local communities to help communities which perhaps haven’t seen so much investment over the last 10 or 20 years.”

Rejecting the idea there ought to be consultation with the Scottish Government over funding priorities, he said: “They key consultation has to be with the local communities and the local councils and I think that’s an entirely legitimate way for the UK Government to proceed.”

But he said: “The UK Government is absolutely driven by wanting to work with the Scottish Government for the benefit of the people of Scotland.”

Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day said the transformation of the Granton gas holder would give the local community a much-needed place to come together to enjoy arts, sports, and culture.

He said: “The exciting project forms part of the wider £1.3bn regeneration of the Granton area where we are unlocking brownfield land to build a new sustainable 20-minute neighbourhood. We’re continuing to work hard to ensure Granton is somewhere residents will be proud to live and I look forward to seeing progress continue in 2024. It’s great to see the minister visiting this exciting project and I hope to meet with both the UK and Scottish Governments to discuss funding for our regeneration plans going forward.”

The minister – who expects his responsibilities within the Scotland Office to focus on business, investment, trade and energy – later visited two other projects, both of which have received grants from the UK community ownership fund, another aspect of the levelling-up strategy.

He went to Portobello Town Hall, where a charity board of nine trustees is refurbishing the B-listed building following its sudden closure in 2019 after plaster fell from a high ceiling. The charity has over 350 members and 85 volunteers and the hall is in regular use again for a range of activities from theatre shows to makers markets, fitness classes, ceilidhs, book signings, weddings and more. It received a £90,000 grant.

And he also stopped off at the former Victoria Primary School, which the Heart of Newhaven community group acquired from the city council. It is now used as a community space, with a community teaching kitchen, a weekly free lunch club, a dementia meeting centre and an after-school club. It is also used by the Ukrainian community, a friendship group and local artists. The project received £300,000 funding.