Plans to erect a 60-metre wheel in Edinburgh city centre could be scrapped after fears that Princes Street Gardens would not withstand the construction process.

Engineers said the presence of a vacant basement under the gardens could give way under the weight of the wheel’s installation crane, if the structure were to be taken in from The Mound.

Council sources claimed other options had been exhausted and a decision to scrap the project could be announced within days.

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Contractors cannot reach the site from Princes Street due to ongoing tram works, and weight limits over rail tunnels mean the third access route – the area around St Cuthbert’s Church graveyard – is also off-limits to the heavy crane.

The Wheel of Edinburgh had planning permission for six months in the park, after which time it was due to move to the USA.

With pods similar to the London Eye, rather than seats like a normal ferris wheel, it would have cost £8 per person, with 50p per entrance fee going in to a community fund.

A safety survey could leave the council with a bill for tens of thousands of pounds and council insiders said it would be easier to call the project off.

(NE)