Cala to build 89 homes at mill site

BUILDER Cala Homes has added a site on the edge of Edinburgh to its portfolio after taking on a development that had hit on hard times.

Cala Homes development. Picture: Jane Barlow

Property consultancy GL Hearn said it had sold Kinleith Mill to Cala Homes who will develop the site for an 89-house development.

GL Hearn was acting on behalf of Kinleith Development Company, which is in administration. The firm was appointed by administrators in 2012 to asset manage the site, which extends to 11 acres next to the Water of Leith, in the Edinburgh suburb of Currie.

Graeme Laing, planning director at GL Hearn, said, “Kinleith is a prominent development site in the affluent Edinburgh suburb of Currie and we were confident that by using our combined intelligence we could resolve the complex challenges to deliver an implementable development opportunity which the market would respond to.

We are delighted that our efforts have been rewarded and that development on the site will commence later this year.”

At the time of GL Hearn’s appointment, the Kinleith Mill site faced significant challenges, with previous planning permissions having lapsed and numerous issues affecting the site, including flood risk, contamination, protected species, constrained site access, rights of way and complex engineering challenges.

In addition, although largely a brownfield site, parts of the site were located in the green belt and also formed part of Currie Conservation Area and a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.

GL Hearn assembled a design team, including Hackland & Dore Architects, McGregor McMahon Engineers, DTZ and Maclay Murray & Spens, who collaborated to resolve the issues affecting the site, securing planning permission in principle in December for a new residential development.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SCOTSMAN’S BUSINESS BRIEFING

• Get the latest business headlines from a variety of news sources emailed to your inbox each morning