The area outside the former Granton Station, being built for local people and visitors to enjoy community events and recreation, is to be named … ehm, Granton Station Square!
The name was chosen following consultation with local residents and groups as well as the Council asking people for suggestions online.
Cammy Day, Council Depute Leader, said: “Thanks to everyone who took part in the consultation for the new name. It’s really important to us that local people are involved in every step of the process as we progress our £1.3bn regeneration of the area creating homes, jobs and new communities.
“The name is important as the refurbished Granton Station and new Square will be a focal point in the area for the community and visitors to enjoy for generations to come.”
Arts and social enterprise charity, Wasps, is to breathe new life into the former Granton Station after the Finance and Resources Committee approved their lease yesterday.
The Edwardian former station is to be transformed into a cultural and creative hub by Wasps, Scotland’s largest provider of studio space for artists and creative industries.
The first spades were put in the ground in June to bring the historic former Granton Station back to life as a high-quality creative workspace within the community, with a new public square in front of the building for pop-up events and recreation.
Wasps is set to move into the building in 2022 to create the cultural hub, providing space to support around 40 jobs, as well as helping around 100 people each year with creative business development opportunities.
The Glasgow-based social enterprise charity will deliver a heritage programme for local people and railway enthusiasts on the unique history of the location, as well as providing exhibition space to showcase local talent. They’ll also host workshops and a series of outdoor and online events for locals, with the potential to attract thousands of visitors to the area.
Councillor Rob Munn, Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee, said: “I’m delighted that the Committee has approved the lease for this historic building so Wasps can now start putting their exciting plans into place to bring this fantastic piece of Edwardian architecture back to life.
“The arts and cultural activities and events planned by them will attract thousands of visitors to Granton Waterfront, as well as nurturing artistic and cultural talent in the local area.
Depute Council Leader Cammy Day, said: “In June, we saw the first spades going in the ground to create this fantastic new space for artistic and cultural talent and we’ll soon be announcing the name of the new square being developed in front of it.
“The new hub run by Wasps will be a key focal point in our wider £1.3bn regeneration of the local area, creating new homes, jobs and communities. I’ve met with Wasps recently and I’m keen to see them work with existing local community groups.
“I’m very much looking forward to working with Wasps as they move forward and develop their exciting plans for the building and the wider Granton Waterfront area and beyond.
Audrey Carlin, Wasps’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Wasps and for the area, as part of a wider cultural regeneration initiative. Wasps already supports 180 artists in Edinburgh, and this new facility, at the gateway into Granton, will incubate more digitally based creative people.
“On completion it will attract a diverse and vibrant community to the heart of Granton, and provide new opportunities for established communities in North Edinburgh, while acknowledging the heritage of the building and its connection to the city.
“The project also offers new employment and community engagement opportunities, something we have helped to foster successfully at other locations across Scotland.”
Projects that restore nature, safeguard wildlife and tackle the causes of biodiversity loss and climate change will get a share of £10 million through a new Scottish Government fund.
The Nature Restoration Fund will support a mix of urban and rural-focused projects, such as improving greenspace for outdoor learning, green active travel routes, planting of wildlife corridors and natural flood management.
Half of the funding will go to local authorities to develop new or existing projects which help address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, but which also aim to promote the health and wellbeing of local communities and reduce inequalities.
The remaining £5 million will include a small project competitive fund of £1 million to be distributed by NatureScot, and the balance will go directly to established nature restoration projects across Scotland, including native-tree planting, nature restoration in rivers, lochs and coasts, and improving and connecting habitats.
To announce the new funding, Environment Minister Mairi McAllan (below) visited Malls Mire, a community regeneration project in North Toryglen, Glasgow where 15 hectares of land has been turned by Clyde Gateway and Urban Roots into park, wetland and woodland with accessible paths.
She said: “Our new £10 million fund will help address the twin challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change in a way that supports Scotland’s urban and rural communities and tackles inequalities.
“And it’s just one of a range of actions we’re taking. From our ground breaking work leading the international ‘Edinburgh Process’ to investing in locally driven nature restoration projects in urban, rural and coastal Scotland, we’re helping to improve the health and wellbeing of communities, improve air and water quality, create green jobs and tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.
“As we prepare to welcome COP26 to Glasgow later this year, we’re committed to raising our ambition for nature’s recovery. Our Statement of Intent sets out our ambitions and includes a new voluntary commitment to protect 30% of our land for nature by 2030.”
NatureScot Chief Executive Francesca Osowska said: “More people than ever now understand and support the need to put nature at the heart of our recovery from the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. With COP15 and COP26 coming up, Scotland has a huge opportunity to address the many challenges and pressures that nature is facing.
“This £10 million investment is a significant boost for nature restoration, allowing us to support many more projects working to put our woodlands, peatlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery – taking carbon out of the atmosphere, adapting to climate change and reducing the risks of flood, drought and wildfire.
“These nature-based solutions will not only help us reach net zero by 2045, they’ll provide the nature-rich future we need for a healthier, more resilient Scotland.”
The competitive element of the Nature Restoration Fund is now open for applications, with a closing date of 27 July. See the NatureScot website for application details.
Proposals to create Scotland’s largest ‘net zero’ housing development in Edinburgh have been granted approval by city planners this June.
The 444-home Western Villages is being led by the City of Edinburgh Council in partnership with Glasgow-based contractor CCG (Scotland) and architect Cooper Cromar.
The development will form part of the Granton Waterfront Regeneration, where over 3,500 homes are set to be created over the next ten years, delivering one, two and three-bedroom apartments, including wheelchair-accessible ground-floor dwellings, available in a mix of social (195), mid-market rent (62), market rent (63) and private sale tenures (124).
Designed within a masterplan that will take advantage of stunning parkland and sea views, there will also be greater emphasis placed on pedestrian and cycle movement with electrical car charging, car club accessibility and public transport in favour of traditional car parking which is reduced across the development.
The homes designed to the principles of CCG’s newly launched ‘Net Zero Home’ housebuilding standard. Developed in collaboration with energy and sustainability consultancy, Carbon Futures, the Net Zero Home focuses on enhanced fabric performance, low carbon heating and renewable technology as part of a gas-free energy strategy to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (arising from regulated operational energy use) to a rate less than or equal to zero per year.
With an ambitious target to become a ‘net zero’ city by 2030, this first phase of Granton Waterfront will act as a blueprint for future sustainable development and help Scotland to transition towards a greener economy.
City of Edinburgh Council’s Vice Convener for the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee, Councillor Mandy Watt, said: “All of the steps we’re taking to make homes more sustainable will reduce the energy they use once occupied, thereby helping us to tackle climate change and become net zero carbon by 2030. That’s why we’re pleased to have CCG working with us as they adopt a new ground-breaking housebuilding standard.
“It’s great to see this development with a large proportion of social rent homes get planning approval. We have incredibly ambitious plans which form the bedrock of our housing strategy over the next ten years. There is a critical need for more affordable homes in Edinburgh and we are responding to that through the commitment to build 20,000 social and affordable homes by 2027.
“Western Villages forms part of the wider Granton Waterfront regeneration project which will create one of Europe’ s largest coastal city parks, providing opportunities for residents and visitors to reconnect with the city’s waterfront by offering more areas for leisure and outdoor experiences, civic spaces and sustainable housing.”
CCG Managing Director, David Wylie, said:“Housebuilding is going to play a major part in achieving our ambitious target of becoming a ‘net zero’ economy by 2045.
“With gas being removed from new build homes as early as 2024, it places greater emphasis on collaborative working as the partners on this project have demonstrated; utilising the CCG Net Zero Home building standard to create an affordable, scalable and practical solution that can ultimately be delivered now for any residential development.
“We commend the City of Edinburgh Council for their bold commitment and share their aspirations for a more sustainable future for Scotland.”
Cooper Cromar Project Director, Graham Connor, said: “Cooper Cromar are delighted to have been appointed as the Architect to design and deliver this important residential project delivering one of the initial phases of the Granton Waterfront Development Framework which sets out the Urban Design Framework and Design Guidelines for future developments within the wider Granton area.
“We have sought to create a masterplan that not only stands alone for its significance as Scotland’s largest net zero development but also respectful to the wider regeneration of Granton. It will complement and integrate with future phases of housing delivery and we look forward to working with the project partners over the coming years.”
Carbon Futures Director, Andrew Money, said: “We are delighted to have supported City of Edinburgh Council and CCG with their bold and ambitious plans for Western Villages.
“From the outset, the key areas of focus for the design team were to maximise fabric performance and avoid the use of fossil fuels. This approach, together with the use of on-site renewable energy, will greatly reduce energy demand and deliver a significant reduction in utility costs for homeowners.
“The energy strategy for Western Villages delivers a low-carbon development, future-proofed against upcoming government legislation and presents a fantastic example of how the construction industry can support the nationwide effort to reduce carbon emissions and create a more sustainable future.”
Construction of Western Villages is expected to begin in mid-2022.
The first spades were put in the ground today to bring the historic former Granton Station back to life as a high-quality creative workspace at a cost of up to £4.75m.
The project will be part funded through the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and Town Centre Fund.
The derelict land in front of the building will also once again be used as a public square for community events and recreation to be enjoyed by residents and visitors.
The station site, due for completion by early 2022, is part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Granton Waterfront project, a key sustainable £1.3bn regeneration of this area, which will make a significant contribution to Edinburgh’s target to become a net zero carbon city by 2030.
The Council has also been working with the Granton History:Hub to create a temporary exhibition on the hoarding detailing the history of the building and Granton Gasworks.
Cllr Cammy Day, Depute Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I’m pleased to see work starting now as the wider Granton Waterfront project is really taking off.
“We’ve already got three affordable housing sites underway and the former gasholder is illuminated now as a beacon of light for the project for everyone visiting the area to see.
“This is shaping up to be one of Scotland’s leading sustainable new districts and being built at the Waterfront it really will be another fantastic place to live, work and visit in Edinburgh.
“We’re speaking to the local community every step of the way on the Granton Waterfront regeneration and we’ve just finished consulting on a new name for the new public square outside the former station, which we’ll be announcing shortly.”
Cllr Adam McVey, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It’s great to see work starting to bring this much loved Edwardian building back to life to serve the community it’s central to once again.
“The former Granton Station has a rich industrial heritage which we’re going to display on the site hoardings while work continues. The project will provide a number of jobs while construction is ongoing and the future new enterprise will generate valuable quality local employment opportunities for Edinburgh.”
Phil McDowell, Regional Director at Kier Regional Building North & Scotland, said: “Granton station dates back to the Edwardian times, it’s an important historical building for Edinburgh and we are proud to be renovating it into a modern work space that will once again effectively support the local community.
“We will work collaboratively with Edinburgh Council and our local supply chain partners to deliver this important project which will support the wider transformation of Granton Waterfront.”
Muirhouse Community Hub and Granton gasholder put forward for Levelling Up funding
As Edinburgh’s economy faces the biggest challenge for more than a generation, the City of Edinburgh Council looks to forge a strong and sustainable recovery for Scotland’s Capital.
The Council has brought together key partners, stakeholders and business leaders to review the Edinburgh Economic Strategy to develop a refreshed approach that focuses on the city’s strengths, continued investment and collaboration, while responding to new pressures arising from both the pandemic and Brexit, and the long-term challenges identified in the 2018 Edinburgh Economy Strategy.
Agreed at yesterday’s Policy & Sustainability committee the report outlines key priorities, while also highlighting the importance of the city centre to Edinburgh’s long-term economic success – as a magnet for visitors, cultural activity, investment and innovation.
As part of the initial work that’s been done so far with key partners a series of actions have been proposed that the Council and other city stakeholder need to undertake to support the delivery of a strong economic recovery for Edinburgh.
These actions fall under five priorities which are:
helping businesses to manage, adapt and innovate
promote access to fair work and opportunities for progression
lead a just transition to a net carbon zero economy
create vibrant places for businesses and people; and
maintain Edinburgh’s place as a global economy.
Focusing on specific actions needed to revive the economy of the city’s historic centre, The City Centre Recovery Plan has been developed as an accompaniment to the refresh of the city-wide Edinburgh Economy Strategy.
This plan proposes two core priorities for the Council and its partners over the next few years:
‘support the city centre to adapt and thrive’ by taking action to provide high impact support to businesses of all sectors, as well as tailored, targeted support to businesses in areas or in sectors under specific pressure.
‘build momentum for long term recovery’ by delivering strong programmes of promotion and marketing the city centre, as well as taking the steps needed to help people safely return to work in the area. Meanwhile look to enhance and repurpose the city centre to make sure it meets the post-pandemic needs of residents, businesses and visitors.
This will be underpinned by some of the largest and most significant retail, commercial, and tourism developments seen in any UK city centre.
It is hoped that these major investments will provide a catalyst for recovery of Edinburgh’s city centre, creating new job opportunities and building momentum needed to drive up footfall and turnover to the benefit of all businesses in the area.
These include:
the £1billion St James Quarter development opening this month;
Diageo’s investment in whisky tourism culminating in Johnnie Walker Princes Street opening later this summer;
a £40 million repair of North Bridge;
the National Galleries of Scotland £22 million refurbishment project;
new uses on the way for key buildings such as the former BHS, Debenham’s shops, and the iconic Jenner’s department store
and in the west end of the city, the Edinburgh’s Haymarket project delivering a £350m development transforming the long-neglected brownfield site.
The new frameworks proposed for both the Economic Strategy and the City Centre Recovery Plan will now go through a consultation period with our citizen’s and partners from this month. Following this the final documents will be published in November this year.
Both reports will also look to deliver on the Council’s broader approach to recovery from the pandemic and meet its core priorities to end poverty, become a net zero city, and ensure wellbeing and equalities are enhanced for all.
Welcoming the update on the new frameworks, Council Leader, Adam McVey, said:“Recent indicators like city centre footfall and investments bringing opportunities for people in the Capital show Edinburgh in a strong position for a successful recovery.
“Oxford Economics suggested that Edinburgh is the most resilient economy in Scotland, driven by our digital connectivity and the diversity of our economy. But the challenges for businesses of Covid-19 and Brexit can’t be underestimated.
“By channelling our strengths, we can overcome the challenges and continue to make our City a greener and fairer place to live, work and do business. Key growth sectors like data-driven innovation and strong sectors like technology, finance and business tourism are all collectively working together as a city to build a bright future for Edinburgh with opportunities for all our residents.
“I’d like to thank our partners and stakeholders for their support and insights in getting our next Economic Strategy to this stage. Through this next phase of wider engagement with the City we will have a robust plan of actions to support businesses, protect and create jobs and continue to make progress.
Depute Leader, Cammy Day, said:“A strong recovery for Edinburgh’s economy as a whole requires a strong and vibrant city centre and by developing The City Centre Recovery Plan, in tandem with the refreshed Economic Strategy, we’re making sure that this vital area of our city continues to thrive.
“In parallel with the development of the priorities we’ve set out, we have also committed to delivering many innovative and regenerative schemes across the city that are at the heart of our communities.
“We agreed on six key projects to be put forward for UK Government Levelling Up Funding including the Granton Waterfront, the North Edinburgh Art’s MacMillan Hub in Pennywell, Wester Hailes and other key priority programme for the city. I’m hopeful that we’ll be successful in our bids for this funding and look forward to seeing these projects benefiting our citizens in future years.”
Funding regeneration
Alongside this, as part of the city’s wider ambitions for the economy, the need to help fund and deliver key regeneration and infrastructure projects was also on the agenda at Thursday’s Policy & Sustainability Committee.
The Levelling Up Fund was announced by UK Government at the 2020 Spending Review as a £4.8bn package of funding to provide capital investment in local infrastructure projects over four years, from 2021-22 to 2024-25.
All Scottish Local Authorities will receive a flat amount of £125,000 in capacity funding to support bid development. This funding is expected to be made available in late June 2021.
The six projects are:
North Edinburgh Arts – a proposed new creative and community hub at MacMillan Square in Pennywell;
Granton Gas Holder – restoring the gas holder structure and remediating the wider site, forming a key catalyst to delivering phase one of the wider waterfront regeneration programme;
Wester Hailes Regeneration – a comprehensive, phased regeneration plan for the next 10 to 15 years and will incorporate the aspirations as set out by the community in the Local Place Plan;
Inch Park Regeneration – a proposed project for the development of a sports and community hub in Inch Park;
Craigmillar Town Centre Regenerations – a regeneration plan for the area to complete years of housing led investment to deliver wide ranging community led improvements;
City-wide active travel – building on the vision and objectives set out in the City Mobility Plan, the active travel investment programme will deliver on of the UK’s most ambitious safe, attractive and coherent walking, cycling and wheeling networks.
Building international partnerships
Taking an international perspective and continuing to build relationships across the globe to attract investment and strategic links will be an important part in growing Edinburgh’s economy.
How Edinburgh maximises its global connections and partnerships was set out in an updated Edinburgh International Framework, developed in collaboration with members of the Edinburgh International Group.
Refreshed in response to changing context and challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, as well as new developments in city wide priorities, the approach ensures international activity promotes the Capital’s equality and diversity objectives.
As part of the new framework, Councillors also agreed that the Council will support the University of Edinburgh in joining the World Innovative Cities Co-operation Organisation to develop civic links and support innovative collaborations with partner cities.
7N Architects are delighted that our proposals for Edinburgh City Council’s flagship regeneration project at Fountainbridge have taken another major step forward with Cruden Homes and Buccleuch Property confirmed as preferred developers for the site.
The project will deliver a vibrant, liveable, neighbourhood that will reinvigorate the canalside and will include new affordable and private homes, commercial, social enterprise and community spaces alongside a new 1,000 sq ft office building for early-stage tech companies to ‘scale up’.
It’s been a long road since the community workshops that we facilitated in 2013, but we are excited that the original community vision will now be delivered.
The city council are hosting an online event to share proposals for the development of the site adjacent to the former Granton Railway Station this Thursday 27 May at 2-5pm.
Join to find out more about the mixed use development & consultation here:
Residents and visitors to the Granton Waterfront area are being asked by the City of Edinburgh Council to vote on suggested names, or propose one of their own, for a new public square.
The square, to be built outside the historic former Granton Station which together with the restoration of the building has agreed funding of up to £4.75m, will be used for community events and recreation. This project is part of the Council’s wider £1.3bn regeneration project for Granton Waterfront.
Cammy Day, Depute Leader, the City of Edinburgh Council, said: The area is steeped in history and heritage and I’d encourage everyone with a connection to Granton Waterfront to read more about why each name has been suggested and cast their vote or offer a suggestion of their own.
“It’s important we get the right name for the new square as it’s our intention that it will become a focal point at the heart of our wider £1.3bn regeneration of the area for the community and visitors to enjoy for generations to come, while creating jobs and homes for citizens.”
Following a competitive procurement process, it is recommended that the £1.1million contract for the pre-development services for the brownfield site be awarded to award-winning housebuilder Cruden Homes (East) Limited ahead of the full development starting in early 2022.
During the pre-development, work will be carried out to prepare for construction, including finalising designs and selecting a net zero carbon energy solution for the entire site, contributing to the Council’s ambitious target to reach net-zero emissions by 2030.
The masterplan for the site was approved in 2016 following an extensive programme of community consultation and regular engagement on proposals for the site has continued with the Fountainbridge Sounding Board, a forum bringing together the area’s key stakeholders.
The masterplan will enable the transformation of the site into a mix of uses including; new homes, offices, shops, social enterprise and community spaces knitted together by high quality public realm.
The development will complement both the new Boroughmuir High School to the west and Vastint Hospitality’s “New Fountainbridge” development to the east.
The housing element of the development will see a total of 436 new homes built. This will comprise 113 homes for social rent, with over 10% wheelchair accessible, 64 homes for mid-market and market rent and 259 homes for private sale or rent.
Commercial, social enterprise, retail and community spaces will feature within both the affordable and private housing phases, along with a 100,000 square foot office building which will provide space for early-stage tech companies to “scale up”.
A cohesive, high quality public realm will create attractive new spaces to socialise on the banks of the Union Canal while a wide range of community benefits and fair work proposals will also be delivered.
These will include a £100,000 community fund for projects to enhance the canal towpath, creating park, commissioning local arts projects, work experience placements and apprenticeship opportunities for Boroughmuir High School pupils and the long-term unemployed, and summer internships paying the Real Living Wage.
Councillor Rob Munn, Finance and Resource Convener, said: “An extensive process and strong scrutiny has gone into this procurement process to get us to this point. We’ll look to discuss this at committee next week and hope to agree that we have a pre-development partner in place that shares our vision while also offering us best value.
“Since the purchase of this underused brownfield site, and the development of the new Boroughmuir High School, we now want to deliver more social and affordable housing and space for businesses, particularly creating space for the data driven and digital sectors that are so important to Edinburgh’s economic recovery.
“It’s important that we build affordable homes across the city and in the areas that people want to live so it’s great that these homes are located so close to the city centre.
“The development will provide homes that are both cost effective to heat and wheelchair accessible and will be a mix of council housing and mid-market homes, which will be managed by the council’s Edinburgh Living.”
Councillor Joan Griffiths, Vice Convener, said:“Seeing our masterplan getting closer to becoming a reality is very exciting and I look forward to seeing the site start to take shape and realise our ambitions for Fountainbridge.
“This development will bring a great regenerative feel to this area of the city and through the community benefits programme we have agreed as part of this development contract we also hope to bring new jobs and training opportunities for local people, offer opportunities for local artists while also enhancing existing public spaces in and around Fountainbridge.”
The Council and its agreed development partner, alongside the local community will work together to finalise the plans for the area over the coming months. Thereafter construction on the site will commence subject to final agreement amongst the parties.
At the end of the pre-development period, should both parties wish to proceed, further Committee approvals will be sought to proceed to the construction phase.
