If it’s cool in Wales, it’s got to be hip in Scotland too, right? Announced last week, Wavegarden Scotland has plans of its own to develop a surf park featuring the yet to be seen Wavegarden Cove wave technology.
It’s early days in the process, but plans for a multi-million-dollar surf facility outside of Edinburgh are apparently in the works. The project is being taken on by the engineering team at Wavegarden, who want to transform the Craigpark Quarry pit near Ratho into a full-on tropical paradise. Okay, tropical paradise may be pushing it, but they do want to put a wave in the middle of the Scottish countryside.
“Wavegarden Scotland is a thrilling new concept in the adventure leisure industry. If approved, it could position Scotland as a leading surfing destination as the country already has some world-class natural breaks,” said Andy Hadden, co-founder of Tartan Leisure Ltd., the group behind the project.
“The Wavegarden Scotland project appears an exciting addition to active participant sport in the Edinburgh area,” said Gavin Barrie, convener of City of Edinburgh Council’s economic committee.
The Wavegarden project is expected to be built right across from the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, which indicates it will be a multi-use area.
“Hopefully others will share my enthusiasm for development,” said William Watson, president of the Scottish Surfing Federation. “We fully support this fantastic project and will continue to work with Tartan Leisure Ltd to ensure it fits with the best interests of Scottish surfing.”
According to Wavegarden Scotland’s public documents, the project is currently under public consultation and intends to submit their planning application by the end of March 2017. Depending upon how the project moves through the project review and determination period, groundbreaking could begin by January of 2018 with a grand opening target of March 2019.
For more on this story, see the articles on BBC.com and Express.co.uk
Stay tuned to SurfParkCentral.com for more updates on this story as the planning process continues to play out.
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