THE proposed £2 billion Edinburgh ‘West Town’ development has been granted planning approval in principle.
The project has been described as ‘one of the most significant and sustainable urban expansions of Edinburgh in a generation’.
Councillors at City of Edinburgh Council’s development sub-committee voted unanimously to grant planning consent in principle for the entire 205-acre site, which is tipped to help alleviate the housing emergency in Scotland’s capital city.
Developed by West Town Edinburgh Ltd, the site is located between Ingliston Park and Ride and the Gogar Roundabout. The project will become the largest single homes-led development in Edinburgh in modern times.
Development plans follow guidelines set out by the council’s City Plan 2030, which identifies the area as having the potential to become a ‘vibrant, high-density’ city extension with a capacity for 7,000 new homes. This includes some 2,500 new affordable homes.
Proposals for West Town also span employment, commercial, leisure and community facilities. This includes space for a primary school for up to 630 pupils and a high school for up to 1,200 pupils, a 300-bed hotel, and 300-apartment student accommodation. There will also be mixed-use amenity space including medical provision, civic and community areas – plus bars, restaurants, cafes, retail, commercial and office space.
Transport provision will focus on a new tram stop linked to the Edinburgh Tram route running directly through the site, together with an integrated bus service. There will also be 27 acres of open green space including a 5.5-acre central park, several pocket parks and a wildlife corridor.
West Town Edinburgh Ltd was formed in April 2021 by Drum Property Group to progress development of the site. Graeme Bone, Drum’s group MD, said, “This planning consent is the next significant milestone in our journey to realise the ambition we share with the council, as agreed in the City Plan 2030, to deliver a major transformation of the west of Edinburgh. We now have the once-in-a-generation opportunity to make West Town an exemplar, sustainable 20-minute neighbourhood on a par with the best new developments taking place anywhere across the UK and Europe.
“The amount of space on the site, combined with its superb location, allows for a natural extension of the city, providing 7,000 mixed-tenure homes and new jobs in a well-designed 20-minute neighbourhood. West Town also has direct access to some of the best public transport in Scotland – the tram line travels through the site and there are integrated rail, cycle and road connections, creating a strategic gateway for the west of Edinburgh.”
The phasing of development will be determined through the submission of a phasing framework, as required in the council’s proposed conditions. Once this framework is agreed, West Town Edinburgh will submit detailed planning applications for each construction phase.
