West Edinburgh is set for a housing boost after the City of Edinburgh Council signed a contract with Keepmoat for a £35m housing-led regeneration project in North Sighthill.
The major development will see 316 houses and flats built, with 184 homes for affordable rent and 132 homes for sale. The new project is the latest development in the Council’s house building programme, in partnership with housing providers across the city, to construct 16,000 new affordable and low cost homes over the ten next years.
All of the new homes have been designed to ensure residents’ heating costs will be kept low. The development will include a variety of gardens and open space for residents. In addition, homes are more adaptable to tenants’ changing mobility needs over their lifetime.
Construction work is expected to begin on the site in the spring of 2017, with Council homes available to rent by spring of 2019.
Keepmoat will construct all 316 new energy efficient homes, providing a jobs boost for the area with opportunities for work experience and training.
Housing leader for City of Edinburgh Council, Cllr Joan Griffiths, said: “North Sighthill is one of the largest new house-building projects in Edinburgh, after the regeneration of Pennywell in the north which is well underway. This development is a key part the Council’s commitment, working with housing associations, to deliver 16,000 affordable and low cost homes and nearly £2 billion investment over the next ten years.
“This project is now part of a larger programme already delivering new affordable homes in Leith, Newhaven, Craigmillar, Pennywell, Gracemount and Chesser in one of the most ambitious Council-led housebuilding programmes in the UK.”
Eamonn McGarvey, regional managing director for the Regeneration division at Keepmoat in Scotland, said: “Our proposals shall create a development that Edinburgh can be proud of benefitting from a cohesive, high quality public realm and seamless tenure that generates a sense of community and civic pride that helps to create jobs and improve the area’s social and economic prosperity and attractiveness.
“We face a well-documented skills crisis in the construction industry and this project offers an ideal opportunity to upskill a new generation in varying construction disciplines. We shall engage enthusiastically and positively with local schools and colleges to encourage young people to consider careers in the construction industry.
“We are once again delighted to be working with the City of Edinburgh Council and supporting their vision of sustainable housing and neighbourhoods fit for the 21st century.”
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