A new outdoor concert arena planned for Edinburgh will not open for at least three years.

The charity behind ambitious plans for a replacement to the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens said the new venue will not be ready until at least 2021.

Initial estimates from the Ross Development Trust had led to hopes it could open in 2019.

A report going before Edinburgh city council's culture committee on Tuesday states that the timescale of the project would be "difficult to predict".

However it says it will be "a minimum of three years" before operators take over the new bandstand and its associated garden reception building.

Fundraising work for the scheme was halted due to concerns that no organisation had been appointed to maintain the new arena.

Edinburgh city council and the Trust are now to discuss setting up a new arms-length foundation which will ultimately take over the running of the bandstand.

Councillor Jim Campbell said: "The project had been gathering momentum but now it's dissipated.

"Donors wanted to know what would happen after it was built - no-one seemed to have thought about it.

"There has to be an arrangement in place, donors need to have the confidence that the Bandstand will be looked after throughout its lifetime."

The Ross Development Trust launched an international design competition for a replacement to the 80-year-old Ross Bandstand, which boasts the stunning backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

More than 100 architectural firms from around the world submitted a variety of plans for the £25m project, with US firm wHY eventually being chosen as the winner in August last year.

The design for the new performance space and pavilion was unanimously chosen by a panel including writer Alexander McCall Smith.

Hotelier Norman Springford has promised £5m for the project, but further money is required to bring it to completion.

A separate project to refurbish the gardener's cottage in West Princes Street Gardens has been completed, while the refurbishment of the nearby Ross Fountain is nearing completion.

The Ross Development Trust declined to comment further ahead of the committee meeting on Tuesday.