In numbers: Edinburgh’s £1 billion St James development

More than 3,000 people have worked on the construction of the Edinburgh St James development – with 80 per cent of them living in the area.

Construction on the new site will include a hotel , cinema, residential accommodation, car parking for 1600 cars and open spaces for shows.

This includes the employment of 41 apprentices, exceeding the initial project targets by 136 per cent.

In addition, 80 students have successfully carried out work experience, accumulating nearly 1,000 hours of labour on site. This is double the projected target of 500 throughout the entire construction period.

The development, located within a world heritage site at the heart of the Capital, will provide long-term benefits delivering more than 3,000 permanent full time jobs.

Cllr Kate Campbell, housing and economy convener, said: “Helping young people to develop skills and access employment is one of the most important parts of our strategy for creating a more inclusive economy. Community benefits that are written into contracts have such a big role to play and it’s really encouraging to see this number of young people developing skills – particularly in construction which is key to the city’s future success.”

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