[Kenspeckle]

The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) purchased the former Ingliston Estate in 1958 to serve as its headquarters and Royal Highland Centre (RHC) showground. Subsequent development has given rise to a number of permanent exhibition halls.

In 2003 the UK Government published a White Paper on 'The Future of Air Transport' detailing the expansion plans for Edinburgh Airport onto land owned by RHASS, making operation of the Royal Highland Centre untenable and an alternative home was sought.


Norton Park Proposals

By 2008 proposals had been drawn up for the relocation of the RHC facility to a new site on the south side of the A8 known as Norton Park. From a shortlist including Foster & Partners, HOK and BDP, Make Architects (with landscape architects EDAW) won the contract to deliver a masterplan for the project, involving a new showground, members' pavilion, Highland hall, 10,000 seat indoor arena, hotels and over 250 acres of landscaped grounds. With an estimated budget of £275m (later rising to £353m), construction was expected to begin by 2010 and finish by 2013.

2009 Royal Highland Centre Masterplan

However, by 2009 Edinburgh Airport had revised its expansion plans and estimated it would not require the showground site for at least twenty years. It was proposed that RHASS remain at its present home in the short term, with the longer term goal to still relocate to Norton Park by 2030. Optimised Environments (OPEN) were appointed to develop a £75m 20-year masterplan to redevelop the present site, including hotel and business uses to complement the International Business Gateway.

10/01832/PPP | Planning application in principle for redevelopment and extension of show ground site including show ground related uses, offices hotel(s) with public house licence, conference, exhibition, education, training and retail facilities including access, car parking and landscaping | Royal Highland Centre Ingliston Road Edinburgh EH28 8NE

Architect statement:

Scotland's National Showground

Ingliston, Edinburgh, Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS)

The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) was 225 years old in 2009 and established a permanent exhibition venue and headquarters at Ingliston, Edinburgh over 50 years ago. To continue this history of success and national presence, OPEN was brought on board to lead the design of this masterplan and manage a team of consultants to work with RHASS on establishing a vision for the next 20-years.

The aim for RHASS is to become the UK’s leading indoor and outdoor exhibition venue, with world class facilities capable of accommodating two million people on an annual basis. The plans focus around the creation of a high quality multi-purpose site which secures RHASS’s future and makes Ingliston the natural gateway to Scotland.

The 133ha site offers an opportunity to take a meaningful, design led approach to planning new development and rationalising existing operations, especially for such a key site adjacent to an international airport and on the urban fringe of Scotlands capital city. The main design aim is to create a strong and identifiable EVENT landscape, which creates a distinctive PLACE. The proposal includes over 50,000sqm of new exhibition facilities as well as office accommodation aimed at the renewable energy sector, hotels, and a Food Centre of Excellence. The rationalised proposals have a total of 100,000sqm of development, including diversified land uses which now have planning permission. On behalf of RHASS, OPEN is currently evaluating developer partner proposals for mixed uses on new development plots.

RHASS statement:

The Centre will be transformed over the coming years following planning approval by the City of Edinburgh Council in April 2011. Two new hotels, improvements to the east of the venue with a boulevard off Eastfield Road leading to a new east entrance, a new members’ pavilion and new exhibition hall are all part of the plans.

The development has been carefully considered to not only enhance our contribution to the economy – estimated at around £250 million – but also to support farming and food businesses through the creation of a Scottish Centre of Excellence and an agricultural business hub, all of which encompass The RHASS’s founding objectives.

The long-term objective will be to create, as part of Edinburgh International, a high quality, multi-purpose site which will be the UK’s leading showground facility and will be seen as the natural gateway to Scotland, where the city of Edinburgh meets the countryside.

West Edinburgh Planning Framework - Predicted 2030 Land Use

 

[Kenspeckle]

Application submitted to demolish the existing 1960s MacRobert Pavilion and replace it with a new Members' Pavilion overlooking the main ring. Design by 3D Reid.

15/05850/FUL | Demolition of existing Members Pavilion and redevelopment for new Members Pavilion with associated infrastructure works on same site and footprint as existing building. | MacRobert Pavillion Royal Highland Centre Ingliston Road Edinburgh

Existing MacRobert Pavilion

Proposed new Members' Pavilion

 

[dadabouttown]

Application submitted to demolish the existing 1960s MacRobert Pavilion and replace it with a new Members' Pavilion overlooking the main ring. Design by 3D Reid.

Am I the only one who sees a showground catering for one giant annual event - and seeking to exploit facilities the rest of the year on a much smaller and piecemeal scale - located in a prime bit of real estate very close to a tram link, rail link, airport and the motorway networks and thinks...

....Shouldn't CEC and the RHASS collaborate and plan a more ambitious, joined-up and long term multi-use showground/venue solution? Maybe even a joint venture they don't fully own or control if that unlocks something bigger and better. Something that could attract a lot more conferences, exhibitions and events. How about a motor racing track? Or a campervan park - allowing tourers to tram into the city? There's possibly a wishlist of things like that where good transport links and ready facilities on site add up to make it a good location.

Of course, I may be over imagining what real opportunity or demand or gaps in provision exist. I might be ignorant of what is planned. I know they have longer term plans to relocate southwards across the A8 to allow for airport expansion so maybe that is indeed the long term vision alongside an extended tram line to Newbridge that could serve it.

PS - I quite like the pavillion. You could get a lot of drunk farmers into that!

 

[The_Boy]

Am I the only one who sees a showground catering for one giant annual event - and seeking to exploit facilities the rest of the year on a much smaller and piecemeal scale - located in a prime bit of real estate very close to a tram link, rail link, airport and the motorway networks and thinks...

Nope. Though as you say, quite what to do about it is less obvious.

 

[sbarclay62]

Got excited reading the opening paragraph on the opening post about the 10,000 seater arena, then got to the end and realised its been shelved.

Unreal that a city like Edinburgh with its record breaking investments and millions of annual visitors doesn't have one of these arena's already when the likes of Nottingham and Sheffield do. :bash:

 

[dadabouttown]

Got excited reading the opening paragraph on the opening post about the 10,000 seater arena, then got to the end and realised its been shelved.

Unreal that a city like Edinburgh with its record breaking investments and millions of annual visitors doesn't have one of these arena's already when the likes of Nottingham and Sheffield do. :bash:

It's definitely one of the missing links.

Lots of reasons I suppose. The SECC / Hydro tackles the mega event market. The EICC is a very central (a selling point) but it means it is a fairly pure play conference development. There's also limited sites suitable and available.

I always thought the Morrison St goods yard would have been a great site - but then they built the rather drab Morrison Crescent and also the Premier Inn on the non railway tunnel parts of the site, reducing the space available.

 

[Kenspeckle]

Am I the only one who sees a showground catering for one giant annual event - and seeking to exploit facilities the rest of the year on a much smaller and piecemeal scale - located in a prime bit of real estate very close to a tram link, rail link, airport and the motorway networks and thinks...

....Shouldn't CEC and the RHASS collaborate and plan a more ambitious, joined-up and long term multi-use showground/venue solution? Maybe even a joint venture they don't fully own or control if that unlocks something bigger and better. Something that could attract a lot more conferences, exhibitions and events. How about a motor racing track? Or a campervan park - allowing tourers to tram into the city? There's possibly a wishlist of things like that where good transport links and ready facilities on site add up to make it a good location.

Of course, I may be over imagining what real opportunity or demand or gaps in provision exist. I might be ignorant of what is planned. I know they have longer term plans to relocate southwards across the A8 to allow for airport expansion so maybe that is indeed the long term vision alongside an extended tram line to Newbridge that could serve it.

PS - I quite like the pavillion. You could get a lot of drunk farmers into that!

It's a tricky situation where currently the RHASS are essentially in limbo at the mercy of inevitable airport expansion. Although their stated aim is to move to Norton Park on the other side of the A8 in fourteen years, any relocation could presumably only be financed by selling the current site to the airport if and when that land was required. In the meantime, I think the current strategy of commercial and hotel development along Eastfield Road is sensible. Although the NW portion of the current RHC site is earmarked for the airport, the remainder is envisaged as a third phase westward expansion of the International Business Gateway. Other new RHC developments, like the replacement members' pavilion, are likely to have relatively short lifespans, either demolished outright to make way for the airport, or swallowed up by IBG West, where they may or may not find a second life.

I think the plans for the relocated RHC at Norton Park are more along the lines of the sort of venue you're suggesting. The most recent documents I saw on the plan were from 2012 where the development was now described as 'Scotland's National Showground & Expo'. In addition to replicating the current RHC principal buildings and facilities, it would still include the 10,000 seater auditorium from the original masterplan plus an expo centre - two things the city badly needs (a friend at VisitScotland has told me for years that for VS an exhibition centre is top of their wishlist for Edinburgh by a considerable margin). At 40,000 sq m (not including another 15,000 sq m in replacement RHC venues), the expo centre would be almost twice the size of the SECC (23,000 sq m) and comparable to the new AECC (45,000 sq m). I believe the following image is still the current masterplan.

I wonder if this plan has played some part in the failure of the IBG arena to get off the ground. I can see an argument that it makes more sense for a venue like that to be sited alongside other event/exhibition buildings, especially if the new RHC was eventually served by the tram extension to Newbridge. The proposed route for the extension would pass through the west end of the Norton Park site and I think there'd be a strong case for siting a tram stop there rather than the 'West Ingliston' stop on the other side of the A8... I just wish we weren't going to have to wait until 2030 for the possibility of this, or maybe even longer if the airport adjusts its plans again!

 

[dadabouttown]

It's a tricky situation where currently the RHASS are essentially in limbo at the mercy of inevitable airport expansion........I just wish we weren't going to have to wait until 2030 for the possibility of this, or maybe even longer if the airport adjusts its plans again!

Cheers.

There is a fair bit of logic behind that. The extension of the IBG into later phases on RHC land not needed by the airport is news to me - and the ambitions for a new expo centre are pretty ambitious.

West Edinburgh and that finger of land along the A8 is really going to crank up long term - albeit recessions and other factors will play about with timescales.

 

[dadabouttown]

double post

 

[Kenspeckle]

A couple of posts from other threads which really belong here.

____________________________________________________


I came across some marketing material for the Edinburgh International Business Village (EIBV) beside the airport. Not to be confused with the proposed International Business Gateway (IBG) on the other side of Eastfield Road, this is land owned by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

Edinburgh International Business Village (EIBV)

Edinburgh International Business Village offers corporate office occupiers seeking 15,000 sqft to 150,000 sqft, bespoke pre-letting opportunities in a highly prominent and unique location only 4 minutes’ walk from Edinburgh International Airport and the adjacent tram.

With frontage overlooking Eastfield Road – the only available road access for cars, taxis, buses etc. to and from the Airport – EIBV offers enormous profile and branding opportunities allied with tremendous local, national and international accessibility.

The dark grey block beside the roundabout is already being developed as a Marriott Moxy hotel. Together with the three L-shaped buildings beside it, this constitutes "Plot 1" of the RHASS masterplan. There is a similarly sized plot to the south, on the other side of the new entrance boulevard to the Highland Showground, which I think is to be developed by RHASS themselves, with a Rural Centre of Excellence as well as some further commercial space.

The white block near the base of the control tower is the approved Hampton by Hilton hotel, which is not part of this development. The suggestion of additional development on RHASS land to the west is interesting as it goes beyond what is proposed in the existing masterplan.

____________________________________________________


Some pre-planning material for the proposed 213 room Edinburgh Airport Moxy Hotel.

The hotel would occupy a Royal Highland Showground development plot and follows the RHASS masterplan by Optimised Environments.

The first Marriott Moxy opened in Milan last year and there are a dozen or so more across Europe due to open by the end of next year. They all seem to be variants of the same inexpensive-looking design, using a similar colour palette of aluminium rainscreen cladding.

Based on the drawings, the Edinburgh Airport design most closely resembles the proposed Frankfurt Airport Moxy, which is actually one of the better looking ones (scary). The full planning application should be submitted soon and we'll see exactly what is being proposed.

Frankfurt Airport Moxy

 

[Kenspeckle]

Full application submitted for the 213-room Moxy Hotel on RHASS development plot 1.

15/05852/FUL | Proposed development of hotel of up to 230 bedrooms with bar, conference, meeting rooms, café and food areas with associated landscaping, car parking access and infrastructure works. | Site 250 Metres West Of 100 Eastfield Road Edinburgh

 

[Kenspeckle]

Not part of the RHC, but sandwiched between it and the airport so this seemed like the best place to post this.

PPP submitted for mixed use redevelopment of Fairview Mill - hotel, pub/restaurant, business/industrial units. The site is on land allocated for Apron/Terminal Development Zone as part of the long term expansion of Edinburgh Airport.

16/02706/PPP | Erection of mixed use development including hotel (Class 7), restaurant/bar (Class 3), business (Class 4), industrial (Class 5), storage/distribution (Class 6) with associated car parking, servicing, access arrangements and landscaping. Temporary continuation of existing airport car parking. | Fairview Mill 14 East Mains Of Ingliston Ingliston Road Edinburgh EH28 8NG

 

[Kenspeckle]

£2m ‘behind-the-scenes’ work for Royal Highland Show

The Scotsman - 30th March 2017

The organisers of Scotland’s largest outdoor event have poured more than £2 million into improvements on their 200-acre Ingliston site but visitors to this year’s Highland Show will hardly see where the money has gone.

This is because the money has been spent on upgrading infrastructure, with new drainage and vastly improved underground power supplies to cope with future demand.

Royal Highland & Agricultural Society chief executive Alan Laidlaw said the work has still to be completed but is “bang on” schedule, adding that it had become essential as demand on water supplies and electrical capacity had increased in recent times.

“We are investing in the future at Ingliston and it makes good sense to ensure all the basic underground infrastructure is completed to begin with,” he said. “With up to 5,000 animals and between 60,000 and 70,000 people on site on peak days at the Highland [Show] the back-up services have to be able to cope.”

With a relatively mild winter aiding progress, he added he was “quietly confident” that the work would be completed by show time in June. Despite almost ten kilometres of trenches having had to be dug for the new pipework, damage to the showfield had been minimal.

However, if most of this investment is invisible to the visitor’s eye, another project – the demolition of the MacRobert pavilion - has changed the landscape of the showground.

The concrete and asbestos building, erected at Ingliston soon after the Highland Show stopped touring the country in the 1960s, had begun to show its age.

Laidlaw said no decision had been made about what will eventually be a permanent replacement for the MacRobert – this year’s show will feature a temporary structure – but hinted it was possible any future development would link in to improved buildings for some of the Highland Society’s many tenants on the Ingliston site.

Other expenditure on the showfield has included work on roads so that they can cope with the large numbers attending the Highland.

The capital expenditure on the site has been aided by a “year of growth” for the society with a 11 per cent rise in income to £7.85m – last year’s Highland Show brought in £4.35m, up £284,000 on the previous year.


Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/business/co...scenes-work-for-royal-highland-show-1-4407341

 

[mark-h]

Laidlaw said no decision had been made about what will eventually be a permanent replacement for the MacRobert – this year’s show will feature a temporary structure – but hinted it was possible any future development would link in to improved buildings for some of the Highland Society’s many tenants on the Ingliston site.

I thought that the MacRobert pavilion was being rebuilt as mentioned in an post/planning application

Why would they demolish the existing building if there is not a immediate plan for a replacement.

 

[Kenspeckle]

I thought that the MacRobert pavilion was being rebuilt as mentioned in an post/planning application

Why would they demolish the existing building if there is not a immediate plan for a replacement.

I noticed that too. Odd.

 

[Kenspeckle]

Replacing the more ambitious consented scheme by 3DReid.

Holmes Miller submit Planning Application for the new Royal Highland Showground Pavilion

Holmes Miller Architects - 5th June 2018

In January 2018 Holmes Miller was honoured to be selected by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) to design a new Multi Use Events Space for the Royal Highland Centre.

As one of the key venues of the Royal Highland show the building will have an important role on the 5 days of the event – but Holmes Miller has designed with versatility in mind. RHASS see the building as a key player in Edinburgh’s events scene and its capacity of 350 covers over 1100m2 places it high up on the list of conference venues, for the remaining 360 days of the year.

The elevated single storey building will sit directly on the footprint of the original MacRobert pavilion, commanding key views of the main ring and famous bridge from events halls. A large sub-divisible entertainment space and bar area are supplemented by East and West generous entrance foyers, as well as a kitchen welfare areas. The high quality exterior palette will consist of high quality facing brick and pre-cast concrete feature panels carrying references to the provenance & history of the 1784 organisation. A covered terrace and landscaped informal seating areas will complete an external program designed to create a unique vantage point.

The team look to complete in time for the 2020 Royal Highland Show.

 

[Kenspeckle]

Application submitted for the new multi-use events space for RHASS at the Royal Highland Centre by Holmes Miller. The building comprises a hospitality suite, bar & dining facilities and replaces the, now demolished, MacRobert Pavilion.

18/02395/FUL | Proposed multi use event building including ancillary food and drink and bar area with associated landscaping, access and infrastructure works. | MacRobert Pavillion Royal Highland Centre Ingliston Road Edinburgh

 

[Kenspeckle]

PAN submitted for a 200 room hotel on land adjacent to the Royal Highland Centre. Landowner/applicant does not appear to be connected to RHASS.

18/04610/PAN | To Erect 200 bedroom Hotel, Restaurant and Bar with associated landscaping | Land 91 Metres North Of 7 East Mains Of Ingliston Ingliston Road Edinburgh

Public exhibition

Norton House Hotel
Ingliston, Newbridge EH28 8LX

2pm-8pm
22nd November 2018

 

[Kenspeckle]

Go-ahead for new £5m Highland Show pavilion

Press and Journal - 7th December 2018

The go-ahead has been given for the development of a new £5 million conference and meetings structure at the Royal Highland Showground, replacing the existing MacRobert Pavilion in time for the 2020 show.

Directors of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), who run the annual show, approved the investment during a board meeting at the Ingliston showground, Edinburgh.

Planning permission for what the society describes as a “contemporary event space” was granted earlier this year, clearing the way for construction to begin in February 2019, with completion timed to enable the new facility to be ready for the 180th Royal Highland Show in June 2020.

The new structure, which will contain 1,750 sqm of flexible event space, will be used to accommodate conferences and meetings as well as hosting pop-up exhibitions to promote farming and rural life issues.

“This is a landmark announcement,” said RHASS chairman Jimmy Warnock.

“Our vision is to create an inspiring new hub and a place to celebrate the agricultural industry of Scotland.

“We’re very much looking forward to this becoming a place where ideas, innovation and inspiration can thrive and somewhere our members can be proud of.”

The new building is also seen as an opportunity to generate increased commercial income, backing the society’s charitable activities to support agriculture and the rural industry.

RHASS chief executive Alan Laidlaw said: “This ambitious project will ensure that the organisation is making best use of our space and charitable assets, 365 days a year.”

He said the stage was set for an exciting development, adding that the society had moved from the original development concept to the appointment of a contractor within one year.

Mr Laidlaw added: “We want to continue to support and grow the membership of our society so that it can equip and inspire future generations to continue the entrepreneurship and innovation for which Scottish agriculture is known.”

The construction of the new building, which will include a raised viewing gallery overlooking the main show arena, will be handled by Robertson, one of the UK’s largest independently owned construction companies.


Read more at: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/f...6/go-ahead-for-new-5m-highland-show-pavilion/

 

[Kenspeckle]

Opening date revealed for Edinburgh Airport's new Moxy Hotel

Edinburgh Evening News - 11th December 2018

A modern 230-room hotel with a book-themed interior is set to open at Edinburgh Airport next month.

Marriott’s lifestyle brand Moxy Hotels will open its first Edinburgh hotel on Jan 23rd.

Located at Edinburgh Airport, the new hotel will have 230 rooms and promises to offer something quite unlike any other hotel currently housed at the site.

Creating 36 jobs, it is the first of two Moxy hotels planned for Scotland’s capital. The second hotel is also under way to open in the Fountainbridge area in 2020.

Fiona Mackenzie has recently been appointed as the aptly named 'Captain' at Moxy Edinburgh Airport, the brand’s take on a General Manager.

Originally from Ayrshire, the 33-year-old brings a wealth of over 15 years’ experience within the hospitality industry.

Her previous experience includes several of the most prestigious brand names in the hotel arena, including Turnberry, One Devonshire, Inverlochy Castle and Cromlix.

Mackenzie said: “Edinburgh Airport is the perfect location to launch Moxy’s playful spirit and bring something different to the plethora of hotels that are here.

"The brand has quickly gained a reputation for offering the savvy millennial traveller something edgy and distinct. We intend to stand out from the crowd.”

Following the Moxy tradition, the new hotel will reflect its locality with a book themed interior design as a nod to Edinburgh’s status as UNESCO’s City of Literature.

Donovan Sumner, Moxy Operations Officer UK, said: “This is our 3rd Scottish hotel opening in just over two years with Glasgow Merchant City opening earlier this month.

"Thanks to the hotel’s lively and dynamic social scene, Moxy is now at the forefront of new trends within the hotel industry. For us it’s about creating the unexpected for travellers where choice is at a premium. Fiona’s reputation and vast hotel experience is a huge asset to Moxy and we look forward to throwing open the doors to Moxy Edinburgh Airport in January.”

Belvar, the management group operating the hotel, is currently operating 14 Moxy hotels and has opened 5 UK hotels since 2016.

There are already 29 worldwide Moxy hotels and Belvar has seven planned openings next year within Europe including York, Southampton, Paris and Verona.


Read more at: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....-edinburgh-airport-s-new-moxy-hotel-1-4842518