£47m redevelopment of Meadowbank sports centre given green light

City planners have given the green light to £47m redevelopment plans for Edinburgh Meadowbank sports centre.

The venue, which was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games, was closed in December. It is now due to open in 2020.

The decision comes after a campaign against the proposals and a petition which gained nearly 10,000 signatures.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This is great news for the future of sport in the city. The redevelopment is an investment in the future health and wellbeing of our citizens and will see Meadowbank retain its position as the flagship site for sport in Edinburgh.

“When this Council set its budget, we had some tough decisions. We knew that the old venue had reached the end of its lifespan but despite the budget pressures, we agreed that investment in this new facility and the benefits it will bring should be a priority for the city and for the coalition.

“I am pleased to see planning permission granted for the new facility and the decision to approve in principle agreement for development of the wider site will, of course, support our ambitions for the new sports centre. It will also support our strategy for building much needed new affordable homes but before we progress these plans, much more engagement needs to be done. We’ll now kick off a meaningful, comprehensive consultation after the summer to make sure we get this right."