Image credit: Tony Marsh

The Ross Bandstand in Princes St. Gardens could be replaced with a 5,000-capacity venue costing up to £25m.

Edinburgh City Council will team up with Apex Hotels founder and former Edinburgh Playhouse owner Norman Springford to bring the project to life.

Events would be held throughout the year in the planned venue, including concerts during the Edinburgh International Festival and Hogmanay celebrations.

The project could take up to 18 months to be approved by MSPs and has no guarantee of success, although council leaders remain optimistic.

Councillor Andrew Burns said: “Scores of famous acts have graced the Ross Bandstand stage and while it remains a key venue for the festival fireworks and Hogmanay concert it is more than 80 years old and is nearing the end of its useful life.

“It has been a long held ambition of the council to create a new facility as part of major renewal of the gardens but is not, in the current financial climate, a project we could undertake alone.

“We are extremely grateful to Mr Springford for his personal commitment to the project. Princes Street Gardens are a major source of pride in the city and it is important that we get any changes right. There are a lot of considerations, from the fact the area is common good land to the implications of building in public parks, so there is still much work to be done.”