The Royal Yacht Britannia is tilting towards its starboard side
Emergency services are trying to pump water out of the Royal Yacht Britannia after it started listing while it was being moved to have its hull repainted.
The iconic yacht is tilting on its starboard side after developing a leak in a door seal.
The leak was discovered when officials noticed the boat was tilting and went to alter ballast levels.
The boat was due to be moved at 09:30 to a dry dock a few hundred metres across the harbour in Leith.
At least four fire engines are at the scene.
It is the first time it has been moved from its berth in Edinburgh in almost 14 years.
It is due to reopen to the public on 1 February.
Work began on the ship at John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank in June 1952 and it was launched in April 1953.
Last year was one of the attraction’s busiest years with more than 275,000 visitors, a 12% increase on the previous year.
What’s the way forward for transport in Edinburgh? Edinburgh Labour is holding a consultation event in Stockbridge House next week to let local people have their say on transport priorities for the city.
Labour Councilor Lesley Hinds wants hear locals views on transport. (Picture: Thomas Brown)
Inverleith councillor Lesley Hinds, who is also Labour’s Transport spokesperson, explained: ” I want to listen to a range of views and ideas from a variety of groups and individuals. I want to feed them into our manifesto promises and Edinburgh Labour wants you to be part of our vision for moving Edinburgh forward after the elections in May. Here are some of the key issues I believe are facing Edinburgh’s transport system today:
How are we going to keep Edinburgh moving in the 21st Century in a way that meets the needs of residents, commuters and businesses, whilst looking after our planet?
How do we meet the challenge of an increasing population and car ownership?
How do we enable more people to make a positive choice for public transport, walking and cycling?”
The consultation event will take place at Stockbridge House in Cheyne Street on Monday evening from 7pm. If you are unable to attend but would like to put forward any ideas or comments please contact Lesley Hinds by email at lhinds@blueyonder.co.uk
THE Royal Botanic Garden is today counting the cost of this week’s storm after the gales toppled more than 40 trees and smashed hundreds of windows.
The Botanic gardens on a nicer day.
The visitor attraction has been left reeling after hurricane-force winds lashed the Inverleith site, with a number of the trees blown down dating back 125 years.
Among the most valuable is the ailanthus altissima – also known as the Tree of Heaven – which was torn from its roots by 100mph winds.
Curators at the Botanics hope they can propagate the rare Chinese tree – brought to Scotland in 1925 by the collector Joseph Rock – along with other rare varieties struck down by the winds.
Many were uprooted or snapped off at ground level, damaging smaller trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants around and beneath them as they fell.
The public glasshouses and research houses also suffered severe damage, leaving plants exposed to the elements, with 400 panes of glass in all smashed.
David Knott, curator of the living collections said “I have never experienced storm damage at RBGE like this before. We will attempt to propagate the wild origin trees that have come down.”
It comes as property experts at the city council continue to survey the damage caused by the high winds at 110 city sites.
Insurance industry sources said many individual claims for damage to roofing or building fabric could total tens of thousands of pounds.
At Edinburgh Airport, a Jet2 cargo plane is being repaired after being struck by a flying bus shelter.
Scottish Power said around 600-700 homes across Edinburgh and the Lothians were still without power, with extra engineers drafted in from down south to help fix the faults.
A spokeswoman said they had received the same number of faults in a single day as they would normally in three months.
Forecaster for the Met Office Dave Clark said gusts reaching around 50mph would return to the Lothians on Sunday.
Kirkliston Leisure Centre will be closed for the foreseeable future until a new roof can be installed and the climbing centre at Ratho was closed after its roof was damaged, and later partly reopened. Leith Waterworld, which was closed due to storm damage, will reopen for its final weekend.
