Edinburgh is on course to exceed a target for 4,000 extra hotel rooms being built in the city within the next six years.

The need for more rooms was highlighted in an audit called Edinburgh & Lothians Tourism Accommodation which identified that extra rooms were needed to meet expected demand.

The council produces an annual report to show progress being made against that audit and a similar one which called for an extra 1,000 rooms to be built near Edinburgh Airport.

The Edinburgh Hotel Schedule 2008 reveals that over 74% of the required rooms (just under 3,000) have been developed, are being developed or have planning consent.

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In addition 1,886 rooms are awaiting for final approval from the council's planning committee. These include 103 rooms for the Princes Street hotel being developed by Deramore, 200 rooms for the St James Centre development and 221 rooms for the hotel on the site of the Cowgate fire.

Cllr Jim Lowrie, Planning Convener at City of Edinburgh Council, described the latest figures as very encouraging.

He said: "This is great news for Edinburgh and demonstrates our belief that Edinburgh is a very attractive proposition for hotel developers. Despite the current economic climate this is a buoyant sector.

"The fact that we have already achieved 74% of the target and have more than 1,800 more rooms waiting to be given the green light shows our commitment to increasing hotel capacity in the city.

"It also demonstrates the importance of early engagement with the planning system. This is a key requirement placed upon councils and the development community by the new Planning Act."

(GK/JM)