Set on the banks of the Forth, Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal is set for an ‘exciting’ future as redevelopment gets underway.
Owners of the site have launched ambitious £250m plans to create hundreds of homes and what has been billed a ‘new town centre.’
But in the meantime as the bulldozers roll in, the centre cuts an altogether more forlorn figure with once full shops fenced off and areas deserted.
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Opened in 2001, Ocean Terminal has been a prime example of the urban regeneration of Leith, providing a range of high-street shopping options for locals, as well as playing host to the Royal Yacht Britannia, one of Edinburgh’s major tourist attractions.
Demolition work has begun to remove the empty Debenhams store – shut in 2020 – as part of the redevelopment, images showing a huge hole gorged in its side.
As the work is carried out, large sections of the interior have been boarded up and are now inaccessible. The area of the building that formerly housed the Boardwalk Roller Rink, once teeming with boisterous birthday parties, is also now eerily empty.
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A gaping hole faces towards the flats across the street on the outside of the former Debenhams, as workers begin to dismantle the large building.
Other shop fronts within the centre have been replaced by empty rooms. Ambassador Group, which owns the site, has announced that the empty shop will make way for over 530 new to-rent housing units.
Edinburgh Live spoke with local resident Jai Adami, 70, who runs the Leith Festival, on the work’s impact on the community. She said: “In the short term, I think people are maybe not so inclined to come here, because quite a few shops have closed.
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“I’m sure the pandemic didn’t help at all, and I think people’s shopping habits have changed. A lot of people will do their shopping uptown possibly rather than come here. But I think once the redevelopment is done it will make people come here for other reasons.”
A worker in one of Ocean Terminal’s shops said: “I think Ocean Terminal is struggling because we’re transitioning, but by next year everything should be up and running, and it will be better. I think everybody took off because of the new St James Quarter.
“But I think by the time the bingo comes, by the time the supermarket opens, that will bring in a different kind of trading and maybe change the way people think about Ocean Terminal.”
Locals have voiced their differing opinions on the redevelopment. One posted online: “I hope the redevelopment goes well and brings people back to the Ocean Terminal.” Another commented: “Rip the lot of it down, absolute eyesore.”
Ambassador Group has ambitious plans for the redevelopment. In their last update newsletter, bosses wrote: “We have been consulting widely for the past 17 months to ensure that in opening up the Leith waterfront, we are creating a community-led complex which prioritises the people who live and work in the area.
“Our vision has been to secure Ocean Terminal’s future resilience and sustainability even against a backdrop of continuing change within the retail and hospitality sectors.”