Plans for the £25m redevelopment of Edinburgh's Meadowbank Stadium are set to be put on hold due to a decline in the property market.

Earlier this year, the City of Edinburgh Council had agreed to sell a third of the land at the stadium site, estimated to be worth £17m, to help meet the project's cost. However, a recent estimate revealed that the current value may only be worth £5m, and as a result, the council has been forced to delay the scheme.

The council's finance leader, Gordon Mackenzie, said: "The decision to postpone the Meadowbank project is difficult from a sporting perspective but financially it looks inevitable. We have experienced a significant drop in land values and the numbers simply don't stack up at this time." Deidre Brock, the council's sports leader, added: "While we wait for economic conditions to improve, we need to make sure that athletes have access to training facilities in the build up to the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.

A meeting of the full council on 20 November will determine whether to postpone the Meadowbank redevelopment.