Edinburgh's planned 'West Town' extension needs a better name – Scotsman comment

If West Town truly is going to be one of the best new developments in Europe, it needs a more exciting name

An artist's impression of what West Town would look like (Picture contributed)

Given the housing crisis gripping Edinburgh, with many people priced out of the city, the news that plans have been drawn up for a major extension of 7,000 homes will be greeted with much optimism. The £2 billion “West Town” project would include shops, schools, offices, parks and various other features designed to create a ‘20-minute neighbourhood’ where people can live and work without the need to commute.

Thirty-five per cent of the housing on the 205-acre site, between Ingliston park-and-ride and the Gogar roundabout, would be classed as “affordable”. And with easy access to Edinburgh Airport and its own tram stop, it would have enviable transport links. Developer Graeme Bone said they wanted “to make West Town an exemplar, sustainable 20-minute neighbourhood on a par with the best new developments taking place across the UK and Europe”.

This all sounds great, with perhaps one exception: the working title of “West Town”. Surely the great Scottish public can come up with something less prosaic, more inspiring. Gogaropolis? Airportopia? Letters to the editor are invited, just nothing with the word “quarter” in it, please.