Caltongate plans in Edinburgh set to go ahead

The development is likely to include a hotel, offices, shops and homes

The stalled Caltongate development in Edinburgh's Old Town looks set to go ahead.

The gap site has lain empty since the original developers Mountgrange collapsed three years ago.

The city council has reached a compromise agreement with the new developer Artisan.

Artisan will make £6.5m worth of improvements to the area around the site, but its contribution to the city's tram project has been slashed.

Mountgrange had agreed to pay almost £600,000 towards the trams - but Artisan will pay about £50,000.

South Africa-based Artisan is now expected to unveil detailed plans for its £300m development in the autumn, which are likely to include a hotel, office complex, shops and homes.

But its proposals are expected to be more modest than those put forward by Mountgrange, which would have been the biggest development in the capital for a decade.

The site covers an area between Waverley railway station and the Royal Mile.