Facelift for the Port of Leith

In its prime, as a city in its own right, Leith was an important port, dock and ship building centre.

But over the years, the area fell into decline.

Today though, the result of a five hundred million pounds facelift is evident - it's being transformed into an urban regeneration area.

The redevelopment money has been poured in and spent on updating old buildings into stylish flats, bars and restaurants.

Quality

The former royal yacht Britannia is moored here, and has just been voted runner up for Best UK Attraction 2003.

It has attracted one and a half million visitors and stands as a symbol of the ambition of the Forth Ports, which has led much of the regeneration.

Terry Smith of Forth Ports is happy with the work so far.

He says, "We set our targets quite high...we went for quality rather than budget" and the plans seem to have paid off.

Attractions

And there's more...

The Scottish Executive has moved here and a giant shopping centre's been built to invite even more people to the area.

And next week, Leith will play host to the high profile MTV awards, bringing a few famous faces to the waterfront.

There are also plans to build a Guggenheim style museum, and up to another five hundred million pounds of investment to complete the transformation.

Apart from the tourist side of Leith, it is also becoming a centre for modern business development - albeit a rather unusual one.

Novel idea

The latest new business premises to be built are not even dockside.

In fact, they float.

Ron Kitchin from Water of Leith 2000 is one of the brains behind the idea - to let out barges as business offices.

He first saw them being used in London, but thought they were often cold and uncomfortable.

This didn't put him off though - he decided that as long as he made them to a suitable standard, there would be interest.

Investment

Ron says, "There's no motion whatsoever, as the area here is non-tidal. The insulation is very thick... with central heating... so it's exactly the same as a modern office."

There is just one here at the moment, but six are planned by the end of 2005 with 1000 square foot of space in each.

The rent is £22,000 a year for 3 years, and the company has invested £1.2m of its own funds plus £150,000 from Scottish Enterprise.

The aim is to target a niche business market, that wants a high profile and good quality - but they'd better not want to travel anywhere, as these barges have no engines!