Joint approach agreed for Edinburgh ’20-minute neighbourhood’
The City of Edinburgh Council and West Town Edinburgh have agreed a joint approach to develop a sustainable ’20-minute neighbourhood’.
Costing £2bn, the 205-acre development in the Scottish capital’s West Town site will look to create a mixed use neighbourhood that both satisfies housing needs and delivers a “significant sustainable urban expansion”.
City of Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day announced the agreement alongside Graeme Bone, group managing director of West Town developer Drum Property Group, at the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum in Leeds.
The West Town site is based between Ingliston Park and Ride and the Gogar Roundabout at the western gateway of Edinburgh. The city’s tram route runs through the site and a new station will be constructed to connect the neighbourhood to the rest of the city.
The site is part of the council’s City Plan 2030 and has been identified as having the potential to become a “vibrant, high-density city extension”, with the commercial and community facilities to become a ’20-minute neighbourhood’. The site also has the capacity for some 7,000 homes.
Drum Property hope that work will start on the site in 2024, with the first homes ready for occupation in early 2026.
Graeme Bone said: “This agreement is a major step forward in realising the ambition we share with the Council for the area and for the city, further strengthening the long-term collaborative process that is set to deliver a positive and high-quality transformation of the west of Edinburgh.”
Drum is currently developing a number of mixed-use projects across Scotland, including at Buchanan Wharf and Candleriggs Square in Glasgow.
