Planning for the future – Scotland’s first net zero carbon housing development takes big next step

Detailed plans, comprising 94 flats and 48 colony style homes, have been prepared to bring a derelict brownfield site and home of a former care home, back to life as part of the £1.3bn Granton Waterfront regeneration project.

Cruden Building, part of the Cruden Group, has been appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver the design of this new landmark project. Cruden Building is working with designers Smith Scott Mullan; Will Rudd Davidson; Hulley and Kirkwood and Hardies as their design team. 

The new proposals will see the site transformed with a mix of net zero carbon affordable and mid-market rent properties. The project will also see a new football pavilion as a new home for Craigroyston Community Youth Football Club.

Architects Smith Scott Mullan have designed this low-car development to give priority to private, shared and public green space and have considered the existing mature landscape and the site’s location on the edge of the Green Belt. There will be four-storey blocks facing a large communal green space at the centre to form a focus point for the emerging community, with three-storey colony-style family homes to the north of the development.

The net zero carbon homes will see residents benefit from improved energy efficiency.  The development will have an abundance of high quality green space and links to the promenade and shoreline and is expected to significantly contribute to the wellbeing of the tenants and create a place which is both sustainable and attractive to live in. 

In addition to delivering the project, Cruden Building will provide a range of community benefits for surrounding residents including apprenticeships and mentoring programmes as well as supporting local organisations.  

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Convener of Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work, Councillor Kate Campbell said: 

“Granton is a site of national importance – recognised by the Scottish Government as strategically significant. To us it’s an opportunity to provide a large number of the much-needed affordable homes, and to open up a beautiful part of our city’s waterfront for our residents to enjoy and build a thriving community. 

“We’re making these new homes sustainable, so they are more cost efficient and comfortable to live in. This helps us to tackle poverty by making the running costs of a home more affordable as well as helping us meet our targets to tackle climate change. These homes will also sit within a neighbourhood of communal leisure spaces that will bring people together and foster wellbeing and spaces for the community to strengthen bonds and build relationships.

“The Siverlea housing and community development is just one part of the wider £1.3bn Granton Waterfront project – a new coastal town bringing 3,500 new homes, a school, medical centre, new cycling and walking routes and enhanced sustainable transport connections with the city, making a significant contribution to Edinburgh’s target to become a net zero carbon city by 2030.

“Appointing Cruden Building as our design partner means we can move on to the next stage of this development, not only building much needed affordable homes, but delivering benefits to the wider community through job opportunities and lending support to local groups as our economy recovers from the challenges of the pandemic.”

Allan Callaghan, Managing Director of Cruden Building, part of the Cruden Group said:

“This is an important step forward for this landmark development which will deliver one of the first net zero carbon home initiatives to the capital.  This important new housing development is firmly focused on placemaking and designing homes for the future.  As with all of our developments, we are committed to giving back to the local area and we plan to provide training and employment opportunities for local SMEs; support work placements and employment opportunities for members of the community and support local organisations to ensure the community benefits as far as possible from this innovative and sustainable new development.”

Phased construction is expected to commence next year subject to consent.