A LANDMARK electricity substation in the heart of Edinburgh's financial district will be demolished and replaced in a £50 million project to provide more electricity for the city.

Councillors have agreed to give the scheme the go-ahead, which means the ageing substation near ScottishPower's Dewar Place headquarters will be replaced with a new facility designed to meet the growing energy needs of the city centre.

Under the move, the 50-year-old facility will be demolished and landscaped while a new substation will be built in a former workshop building at the firm's headquarters. The facility won an Environmental Regeneration Award from Scottish Natural Heritage and Scottish Enterprise in 1997 and scooped a number of other industry prizes for its bold, illuminated design.

However, ScottishPower bosses said the move was necessary to "modernise and improve the electricity supply in Edinburgh for the next 100 years".

Councillors unanimously agreed to approve the project at a meeting this week.