Cruden Building, part of the Cruden Group, has been appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver the design for Scotland’s first net zero carbon housing scheme
Detailed proposals, 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.
The new plans 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.
Architect Smith Scott Mullan has designed this low-car scheme to give priority to private, shared and public green space.
The scheme faces a large communal green space, and will incorporate four-storey blocks at the centre forming a focus point for the emerging community, with three-storey colony-style family homes to the north of the development.
Residents will have improved energy efficiency with the net zero carbon homes, and an abundance of high-quality green space and links to the promenade and shoreline.
Designing homes for the future
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.”
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.
Phased construction is expected to commence next year subject to planning permission.
