A PLAN to demolish Murrayfield Ice Rink and develop housing, a hotel, a care home and other facilities faces major planning obstacles, according to a report prepared by Edinburgh Council officials.

The National can reveal that a well-known Edinburgh property developer, Charles McKinlay, is one of the men behind the Murrayfield 2020 Ltd organisation promoting the project.

Once nicknamed “sitefinder general”, McKinlay is a director of Linkage Scotland Ltd, along with solicitor David Johnson and fellow director David Coutts. Edinburgh Curling Club has confirmed that it has met Linkage Scotland to discuss their plans which would see both the ice rink and curling club relocated.

Murrayfield 2020 Ltd, which is not yet registered at Companies House, has lodged its Planning Application Notice with Edinburgh Council. The project is being developed by Rick Fink Associates (RFA), planning and development consultants of Walker Street, Edinburgh.

The initial plan map shows that the development will take place directly adjacent to Murrayfield Stadium and extend through the site of the ice rink and Edinburgh Curling Club to the Water of Leith.

According to the report to the council’s Development Committee next week, Murrayfield 2020 Ltd will face considerable obstacles apart from the fact they do not outrightly own any of the land shown on their plan.

Murrayfield Ice Rink is a category B Listed Building dating from 1939, and the officials’ report states: “The suitability of the proposals in relation to the impact on listed buildings and their setting will require to be demonstrated.”

Numerous planning and housing policies will require to be met, and perhaps significantly the report notes “there is no pre-application process history.”

A contribution to Edinburgh’s trams is among the transport requirements and the report suggests that the biggest problem may be meeting flood prevention and environment policies.

The report states: “The site lies within 15 metres of the Water of Leith and is adjacent to an area identified as at risk of a one in 200 year flood event.

“An Air Quality Impact Assessment may be required owing to the site’s proximity to the Air Quality Management Areas for the City Centre and St Johns Road.

“The potential impacts of noise break out from the Murrayfield Stadium, which is immediately adjacent to the site, on the residential amenity of future occupiers of the proposed development will also require consideration.”

Meanwhile the SRU has confirmed that it is continuing with its own plans to develop a hotel on the other side of Murrayfield adjacent to the tram stop.

Emphasising that the back pitches at Murrayfield have an operational use, a spokesman for the SRU said that there had been correspondence with the developers and added: “We will need to see more correspondence to understand more widely what the proposal is, but it remains a fact that their proposal involves land they do not own.”

Murrayfield Ice Rink chiefs told The National that his staff have concerns about the plan which was first made public in October.

Richard Stirling, managing director of Murrayfield Ice Rink, told The National: “It’s been many weeks since this all went public and we have still not heard a thing from Murrayfield 2020 Ltd.

“When this came out they were full of promises about public consultation so you would think as occupants of the building they might have approached us.”

Edinburgh Curling Club has issued the following statement: “For the avoidance of doubt, Edinburgh Curling Club Ltd and Murrayfield Curling Ltd have no agreement in place with either Linkage Scotland or Murrayfield 2020, nor do we believe their plans are deliverable.”

Linkage Scotland could not be contacted yesterday and Rick Fink Associates did not respond to The National’s calls and e-mails.