New footage released by the City of Edinburgh Council today (3 April 2024) shows the tank in the iconic gasholder frame has been infilled in preparation for the site to become a public park in the future.

Around 50,000 tonnes of infill material has been placed and compacted within the 11 x 78 metre tank ready for placement of the bentonite membrane. This follows the dramatic removal of the tank walls and bell last year.

Work is currently being carried out on the enormous amount of steel making up the structure with every steel member being looked at and repaired if required. This involves replacing corroded sections or filling holes. To repaint the structure the process involves blasting it with cooper ore which removes the old lead paint and corrosion, cleaning it down and prepping the surfaces then priming coats before the final paint colour.

The progress is the latest in the restoration of the site which began last year. McLaughlin & Harvey are completing the work on behalf of The City of Edinburgh Council using £16.4m from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund and an additional £1.2 million from the Scottish Government.

The gasholder, which sits at the heart of the Council’s £1.3bn regeneration project for a new sustainable coastal town at Granton Waterfront, will become an exciting multifunctional public area.

The space within the restored gasholder is to have multi-sensory play zones, a dedicated area for permanent and temporary public art and one for relaxation, outdoor trails, and tracks for exercise as well as a large outdoor space for sports, markets, seasonal events, community use, festivals, performance arts, exhibitions, and play. Work will also be carried out to plant trees, shrubs and wildflowers improving biodiversity and local habitat in the area.

Councillor Cammy Day, Council Leader, said:

It’s exciting to see this footage and the culmination of all the hard work that has already gone into bringing this fantastic project to life for the area. The transformation of the structure will give the local community a much-needed place to come together to enjoy arts, sports, and culture.

The 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 throughout this year.

Graham Brown, McLaughlin & Harvey Senior Contracts Manager, said:

We are delighted to have reached another milestone on this exciting project. The Gas Holder tank has been dewatered, demolished and infilled alongside the ongoing structural frame refurbishment works. This has involved in-depth logistical planning to ensure both aspects of the project can progress side by side whilst ensuring the safety of our workforce. The finished paint surface is also progressing well under the cover of our immense scaffold structure and in the coming months we will commence the public realm works as the final phase of the project.

Planning Minister, Joe FitzPatrick, said:

Derelict sites can be a blight on communities and often hold back development.

The Scottish Government’s low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme is helping to unlock these sites by providing investment to create great places for people to enjoy, regenerating communities and tackling climate change.

I am delighted that £1.2 million from the programme is supporting this transformative project on this historic site with the creation of a biodiverse, multi-use, and accessible park within the frame of the gas holder, opening it up to public access for the first time.