Analysis: Houses more likely than offices

A combination of factors, including the availability of big office floor-plates in the city centre for the first time in a while, has seen many firms look to invest there, rather than the likes of Edinburgh Park, which still has a lot of available space to let.

A lot of companies which have been taking space in the city centre know that is where their staff will want to be based, and that is part of their decision-making.

Demand for commercial space on the edge of the city has really come down, and a lot of that is down to the fact that companies are able to secure space in the city centre for a much better price than they would have had to pay a few years ago.

Any major development in west Edinburgh in the next few years will have to be for mixed use, and is likely to be led by housing.

The real attractiveness of sites in the west at the moment is actually from housebuilders, and I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in this site when it comes on the market.

It already has good transport links due to its close proximity to the airport and the work on the tram project (pictured) is under way again. But there is spare capacity in other development sites.

There has been a huge shortage of good family housing in central Edinburgh for some time and the problem with many flats on the waterfront is that they are not suitable for families.

But they are crying out for suitable sites for family housing in west Edinburgh and that is why developments in areas like Kirkliston have been successful.

At the end of the day, it is hard economics that will drive things.

• Stuart Taylor is a director at planning agency CBRE in Edinburgh.