Western Harbour is a mainly

residential development A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family resident ...

in the

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

area of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the capital city

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

History

Port of Leith - Western Harbour - geograph

Between 1936 and 1942 the Port of Leith's western harbour was created by the construction of two

breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Breakwaters have been built since antiquity to protect anchorages, helping isolate vessels from marine hazards ...

, the western of them running out from Newhaven into the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

. A large area of land to the east of the western breakwater has since been reclaimed through

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

, on the opposite side of the water to Ocean Terminal. In 2003, it was the location for the

2003 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards were held in Western Harbour in Edinburgh, Scotland. The awards ceremony was held in a 6,000-capacity big top arena constructed specifically for the main event. On the night, Justin Timberlake notably received a ...

. The awards ceremony was held in a 6,000 capacity big top arena constructed specifically for the main event. In 2004 the owner of the Docks,

Forth Ports Forth Ports Limited is a port operator in the United Kingdom based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is owned by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. History Fort Ports was established on 15th December 1967 as the Forth Ports Authority. It bec ...

, announced plans to carry out a major redevelopment of the area. The planned development, which was given supplementary planning guidance by the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

in 2004, will be the size of a small town with up to 17,000 new homes. The

new urbanist New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually in ...

masterplan was designed by the new classical office of

ADAM Architecture ADAM Architecture is a UK based, international architecture and urban design practice with offices in Winchester and London. It specialises in contemporary Traditional architecture, traditional and Classical architecture, classical design, commonl ...

. Initially, three large residential blocks were built along the western breakwater in 2009. However, interest in further development suddenly halted, largely as a result of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

and later the decision to cancel the

Edinburgh Trams Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is an line between Newhaven, Edinburgh, Newhaven and Edinburgh Airport, with 23 tram stops, stops. A modern tram network for Edinburgh was proposed by ...

project to Leith and Newhaven. Interest in Western Harbour has picked up again with the decision to complete the

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

link to Newhaven, which has since opened to passengers in June 2023. ''The Harbour Point'' & ''Gateway'' residential developments were completed in 2019 and the new replacement Victoria Primary and Nursery school opened its doors in January 2022. Another five development-ready sites went on the market in 2022 that would see up to 600 homes built on 10 acres of brownfield site.

Transport

Bus

Western Harbour has bus stops on Newhaven Place, Western Harbour Drive, Sandpiper Drive and Lindsay Road, all served by

Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothia ...

service 11. Services 16/ N16 and the Skylink 200 also serve the Lindsay Road bus stop.

Tram

The area is served by Newhaven Tram Stop, located on the north side of Lindsay Road. This is the east terminus of the tram line.

Places of interest

West Breakwater Lighthouse

At the very northern tip of the breakwater sits an abandoned lighthouse built in the 1950s. It became known locally as the ''Point o' Leith''. As navigational technology advanced it was eventually decommissioned. Unfortunately it has lay derelict for many years and has long been the target of heavy vandalism.

Lighthouse Park

A grass landscaped parkland at the north end of the western breakwater and south of the lighthouse, overlooking the dock gate. Some parts of the existing park may be temporary due to ongoing development in the area.

The Western Harbour Ponds

Since the development halted several years back, three ponds have formed within part of the excavated area. These have become home to several species of birds and other wildlife. A temporary tree preservation order has been issued for a collection of trees on the site.

References

External links

*
Masterplan at Western Harbour
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UK {{coord, 55, 59, 8.21, N, 3, 11, 30.26, W, display=title Areas of Edinburgh Buildings and structures in Leith Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Scotland New Urbanism communities