Artisan Real Estate commits to further investment in the Capital with homes designed for ‘Post-Covid Living’
‘Ambitious’ proposals for 126 new energy-efficient homes on the site of a former care home in Corstorphine have been given the go ahead by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Artisan Real Estate’s Rowanbank Gardens site brings together a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments on the site of the former Gylemuir Care Home, overlooking Gyle Park, close to the main A8 access route into the city. The development has been heralded as a blueprint for post-Covid living, bringing together smart energy-efficient design geared to achieving low to zero carbon ratings whilst responding to the rapidly changing requirements of home buyers and the wider community following lockdown.
Apartments have been designed around an internal courtyard garden filled with fruit trees and communal planting and growing beds, as well as a children’s play park, a natural woodland area and formal lawns.
The homes are designed for open-plan living with most having easy access to a private courtyard or large balcony overlooking the gardens, while innovations such as green roofs ensure benefits of surface water retention, improved insulation and ecology.
Welcoming the planning approval, Artisan’s Regional Sales Team Leader, Christie Turner, said: “This is part of a £90 million investment commitment to raise the standards of sustainable living at prime city centre brownfield sites across Edinburgh.
“Rowanbank Gardens is a significant planning application providing much-needed new homes in a popular and accessible part of the city. The site is ideally located between a large public open space and a major retail park, with superb transport links in and out of the city.
“At its heart is a sustainable design which reflects the demands of modern life, with buildings designed to minimise carbon footprint and maximise daylight. Significant emphasis is placed on the quality of internal space and light to create enjoyable home-working environments, whilst accessible gardens and landscaping promote health and well-being by making nature and well-designed outdoor space integral to the day-to-day living experience.
“The site fits in well with Artisan’s approach of regenerating brownfield sites with good public transport links and is well set to meet the Council’s stated requirement for well designed, high density living whilst providing spacious communal areas and well-established public transport links ensuring low car ownership. There are also all-electric charging points for the provided car parking, City Car Club membership and generous secure cycle parking.”
She added: “The planning application follows a period of consultation with local people and community groups earlier this year, and we received a lot of feedback which we incorporated into our final proposal.
“There has been strong interest in the development from Corstorphine residents, many of whom wanted to downsize and stay in the area and from families looking for more space. We are now looking forward to getting on site and progressing with the development, continuing with our ongoing investment to get the city living again following lockdown.”
Artisan is perhaps best known in Scotland for large-scale urban regeneration projects like the award-winning New Waverley at the heart of Edinburgh’s historic Old Town.
Its Queen Elizabeth House office development, now a flagship UK Government hub, was recently awarded the Innovation Award at the 2020 British Council Offices Awards, recognising the building design which includes a variety of low-energy techniques.
The developer is now applying the same values, resource and design philosophy to its residential developments which is quickly setting it apart from other major homebuilders in Scotland.
Other city projects include Canonmills Garden comprising 180 luxury apartments and colony properties overlooking the Water of Leith in Canonmills, to the north of the city centre, with the first phase dues for completion in spring 2021.
For more information on Rowanbank Gardens, visit www.rowanbankgardens.com.
