Ogilvie to begin work on ‘most ambitious’ energy-efficient housing site

Grier Edmead (left) and councillor Stuart McKenzie

OGILVIE Construction is set to start work on what has been described as Midlothian Council’s ‘most ambitious’ energy-efficient housing development.

The £24 million project will see 90 Passivhaus homes built on the site of the old Newbattle High School in Easthouses.

Ogilvie is building a mixture of flats, houses and bungalows on behalf of the council. The properties will be among 207 council homes across Midlothian, all designed to the Passivhaus standard.

Councillor Stuart McKenzie, Midlothian Council’s cabinet member for housing, said, “It’s really exciting to reach this key milestone. The homes will help tackle fuel poverty – our tenants will have life-long low heating bills – while helping us towards our net zero ambitions and we’re really proud of that. We’re looking forward to working with Ogilvie on this project, which will not only provide much needed affordable homes for our tenants, but will also bring wider community benefits during the construction phase.”

Grier Edmead, operations director at Ogilvie Construction, added, “We look forward to working with the team at Midlothian Council over the next two years to deliver modern high-quality energy efficient homes that will serve the community for many years to come. We will liaise with the community throughout the build programme, communicating regularly and keeping disruption to a minimum.”

The work is expected to finish in 2025.