Massive £1.3bn Edinburgh waterfront development set to get the go-ahead

Call for city’s housing target to be increased

The Granton waterfront development could provide hundreds of affordable homes

THE £1.3 billion transformation of the Granton Waterfront is set to go-ahead in a move that promises to provide an affordable homes bonanza for the Capital.Key contracts for the first phase of the regeneration scheme are set to be approved tomorrow despite fears that the Covid crisis would derail major building projects across the country.

Some 3,500 home are already planned for the site - and now there are hopes that even more homes could be included in the development in order to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis.

Edinburgh’s SNP/Labour administration has promised to build 20,000 affordable homes by 2027.

But depute council leader Cammy Day has already said that target realistically needs to be increased. And today he suggested the Granton waterfront development could play a key role in that.

He said: “The award of these contracts tomorrow is saying the Granton waterfront is going ahead.

“The plans might have to be revised as we go forward because we need to put even more impetus on delivering Granton waterfront now than before. If that includes looking at the city’s 20,000 homes target and increasing that to bring in more affordable homes then that’s absolutely something we want to look at.

“That will need subsidy. We need the Scottish Government to be on side with that, and there needs to be permission for more borrowing.

“But if there is an increased subsidy from the government we will build more homes.

“The industry is dying to get back to work, we’ve got land and if that means redrawing some of the plans for North Edinburgh to accommodate even more housing then we should be up for that discussion.”

Launching an interim report by the city’s poverty commission last week, Cllr Day said the council was already looking at the possibility of buying up former Airbnb flats no longer seen as viable as short-term lets to help house homeless people.

After the lockdown began the council managed to secure more than 200 bed spaces in hotels and private flats. Rough sleepers were taken off the street and given accommodation. And families who had been living in B&B-style accommodation were moved into self-contained homes.

The council had previously been in breach of the law which says families with children must not be left in unsuitable B&B accommodation for more than a week. The authority had been pledging for two years to end the practice but was unable to do so until the Covid-19 pandemic led to a slump in demand for Airbnbs and the closure of hotels as part of the lockdown.

Cllr Day said if some of the hotels, short-term lets and self-contained flats were still available once lockdown is over they could provide an alternative to the current B&B accommodation used by the council as temporary accommodation for homeless people.

Following tomorrow’s meeting of the council’s policy and sustainability committee, he is planning to put a motion to another meeting soon, calling for urgent reports by council officials on the use of hotels and looking to buy up Airbnbs and short-term lets.

He said: “The ultimate goal is we want people in permanent accommodation but that’s not going to happen overnight, so is there a much better temporary solution until we get the ability to build the number of homes we need?

“We have resolved the homelessness problem temporarily by putting people into hotels, but they’re not going to stay in hotels forever.”

The Granton waterfront development will see a large area of former industrial land transformed into a key growth site for the city.

The plans include new businesses, a cultural hub and new leisure, learning and employment opportunities.

At least 35 per cent of the 3,500 new homes currently planned are to be affordable.

There will also be a new school, a medical centre, new cycling and walking routes, improved bus services and potentially an extension of the tramline.

Construction projects across Scotland have been halted due to the lockdown, but preparations for the Granton scheme can proceed without difficulty.

Cllr Day said: “We’re not stalling the waterfront development, we’re appointing a contractor to oversee the commissioning of the development. That’s the next stage in progressing the Granton waterfront.

“It will be one of the biggest waterfront developments in the country. It’s a public sector build, it’s all land owned by the council, there has been extensive community consultation and the response from people in North Edinburgh is ‘Get on and build it, we want to see people living and working here and creating new jobs’.

“We have masterplan - but that is subject to change, particularly in current climate.”

He said ideally he would like a big establishment, like one of the city’s universities, to have a base in the area.

Existing plans include giving Granton’s historic railway station a new lease of life as a creative industries hub.

The area’s former gasometer - saved from demolition after a campaign by heritage bodies - is to be transformed with a £150,000 sound and light show in a joint project between the council and Edinburgh College and in the longer term could become a new cultural centre or concert hall. And the proposals also include creating one of Europe’s largest coastal parks, linking Granton Harbour with Gypsy Brae.

The contracts to be awarded tomorrow are for Western Villages, the first phase of the development which involves around 450 homes.CCG (Scotland) Ltd will be given the role of providing pre-contract design services and Arcadis Consulting UK Ltd will be made employer’s agent and quantity surveyor.

A report to the committee says: “CCG and the design team have provided assurance that they will be able to progress the project during the current Covid-19 pandemic by working remotely and communicating digitally.”

Cllr Day said the Granton project had huge potential.

“The important thing for local people is it has to include affordable housing and the creation of jobs. The opportunities in North Edinburgh are amazing. We need the city to bounce back and this will be one of the projects that help us recover.

“It also has the Granton Central development right next door, which is stuck in planning disputes. We need to get on with that and build more houses there. We can’t have a big chunk of land left sitting on its own while we build thousands of houses and employment opportunities round about.”