MCTAGGART Construction and the Melville Housing Group have held a sod-cutting ceremony to mark the start of construction at the former Newbattle High School site in Easthouses, Midlothian.
A development of 28 mid-market rent homes will be delivered through Melville’s Ironmills subsidiary, comprising a mix of terraced houses, cottage flats, and a flatted block.
John Allan, construction director at McTaggart Construction, said, “It’s great to be breaking ground on this development. The former Newbattle High School site has already seen tremendous investment in recent years, and these 28 homes will be a meaningful addition to the work that’s already been done to transform this area. We’re looking forward to delivering homes that the community can be genuinely proud of.”
Neil Edgar, Melville’s development manager, added, “This is a key milestone for Melville and for the wider Easthouses community. We know there’s a great deal of demand for mid-market rent homes, and these 28 properties, the first built for our Ironmills subsidiary in nearly 15 years, will provide high-quality, energy-efficient housing in a location that has already seen significant regeneration.”
As construction gets underway, McTaggart will be working with nearby Easthouses Primary School to deliver community benefit activities. There will be opportunities for educational site visits, career talks, and learning experiences about construction and the built environment.
The Easthouses development forms part of the wider regeneration of the former Newbattle High grounds, which has already seen the delivery of 90 Passivhaus social homes and the new Easthouses Primary School. McTaggart’s 28 homes will complete this transformation.
Throughout the construction phase, the project will also deliver structured employment and training opportunities, with targeted recruitment strategies and collaboration with local employability partners to maximise skills development outcomes for the area.
The contract was awarded through the Scottish Procurement Alliance’s H2 New Build Housing framework, and the wider project team includes Hardies Property and Construction Consultants, Smith Scott Mullan, and Bayne Stevenson as civil and structural engineers.
