In the news, July 7-9
In today’s edition:
Gracemount Mansion transfer hailed;
An Andy Burnham-type mayor for Edinburgh?;
Call issued for more ‘Zebra crossings’ on side streets;
Return to Edinburgh of Homebuilding & Renovation Show;
Jenners revamp - the movie;
Launch of a community-led housing alliance;
Another tenant for Waverley Gate;
Rose Street planning application for serviced apartments;
Two more ‘empty homes officers’ for Edinburgh;
Exhibition of Scotland’s libraries;
18th-century panoramic view of Edinburgh';
The most-viewed properties last month on the ESPC website;
Walking tour of The Shore, Leith;
Sighthill 'sustainable urban trade park’ reportedly completed;
Another win for housing development site manager; and
Enjoy, see you Friday!
PLANS to refurbish an 18th-century mansion house in Gracemount have been hailed by an architecture heritage organisation.
Begins the Architectural Heritage Fund, here: “[We are] pleased to see that three groups across Scotland have recently secured ownership of key historic buildings at the heart of their communities, allowing them to develop their heritage as vital assets for the future: Gracemount Mansion in Edinburgh; Campsie High Kirk in Lennoxtown; and Tomb of the Eagles on Orkney.”
It adds: “The Category B-listed Gracemount Mansion in Edinburgh dates from circa 1780 and was originally built as a country villa.
“Since 1964, it was home to a popular youth and community centre, which sadly closed in 2018.
“It was subsequently made available for Community Asset Transfer by the local authority.
“The new owner, Gracemount Mansion Development Trust, is now progressing a first phase of emergency works to make the building safe, before embarking on repairs to allow an initial partial use by the community, while longer-term project planning and fundraising continues.”
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A MAYOR in the mould of Greater Manchester’s - currently occupied by Andy Burnham, former UK Government Health Secretary - is reportedly being investigated by the city council.
Billed as an ‘exclusive’, the Edinburgh Inquirer’s Euan McGrory writes, here: “Edinburgh has a habit of going about some of its best work quietly. So quietly, in fact, that its bold bid to take on extensive new spending and decision-making powers modelled on Greater Manchester has gone unreported, at least until today.
“Make no mistake though, the work of the city in this regard may be quiet, but it is far-reaching in its ambitions, with the aim of taking on powers that could prove transformative for the city-region.”
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A CALL has been issued for more ‘Zebra crossings’ on side streets, following workshops - involving people with a disability - including one in Edinburgh.
Along with Edinburgh, workshops were also held in Birmingham and Oxford, leading to five recommendations from the organisers - the walking, cycling and ‘wheeling’ charity, Sustrans - of which the ‘Zebra crossings’ recommendation is one.
Read more, here.
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A HOME improvement and self-build housing fair is returning to Edinburgh, for the first time since 2019.
The Homebuilding & Renovation Show is taking place between October 4 and 5, at the Royal Highland Centre.
Read more, here, on the show’s website, or here, on the website, Project Scotland.
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THE revamp of Jenners department store on Princes Street - into a mixed-use space, including a 90-room boutique hotel, plus cafe and restaurant spaces, and still a department store - is dramatically captured in drone footage on behalf of the project’s construction company, Graham.
Graham has uploaded the footage on its website, here.
It’s worth a look.
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A MANIFESTO, campaigning for increased support for community-led housing, is expected in autumn, from a new ‘alliance’ formed by four Scots community-led housing organisations.
South of Scotland Community Housing and the Inverness-based Communities Housing Trust have been joined by Development Trusts Association Scotland and Community Land Scotland to form the alliance, which is expected to recruit more members over the coming months.
Read more, here, on the website of SoSCH and also here, on the website, Scottish Construction Now.
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REAL estate investment company, Kennedy Wilson, has signed a 15-year lease with leading renewables, energy and natural resources consultancy, Wood Mackenzie, for 30,000 square feet of offices at Waverley Gate, the former General Post Office on Waterloo Place.
It follows a total of 113,000 square feet of other lettings to five occupiers at Waverley Gate, bringing the newly-refurbished 200,000 square foot prime office building in Edinburgh to 95 per cent occupancy.
Read more, here.
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PLANNING permission is being sought, to convert offices on Rose Street into four serviced apartments.
The application can be found here (ref: 25/03280/LBC). It is for 89-93 Rose Street, between Frederick Street and Castle Street.
Says the application: “The subject premises is located in a category B-listed building which has retail uses on the ground floor and offices on each of the two floors above.”
The architects are NVDC.
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EDINBURGH’S 3,000-plus empty homes are to benefit from the appointment of two more dedicated ‘empty homes officers’.
It brings the total number of such officers responsible for Edinburgh to three - seeking to bring empty properties back into productive use.
Of Edinburgh’s 3,093 empty homes, 2,535 are believed to have been empty for at least 12 months.
The appointments have been made by a partnership involving the homelessness charity, Shelter Scotland: the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.
Says the Partnership, here, Edinburgh has a total of 263,607 homes, 9.69 per cent of Scotland’s total. Its 3,093 empty homes represents 7.1 per cent of Scotland’s empty homes.
The Partnership’s impact report from last year revealed that some 10,889 empty homes had been brought back into productive use since the organisation was founded in 2010. A new impact report is due out next month.
The two, new Edinburgh-focussed recruits follow an enhanced effort by the Scottish Government to reduce the number of empty homes across the country, following an announcement - here - of £2m in funding.
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AN exhibition is being hosted in Edinburgh about Scotland’s libraries.
Says Historic Environment Scotland, here: “Featuring images from Historic Environment Scotland’s archives, the exhibition charts their innovation and growth from the 17th century through their continued evolution in response to the changing needs of society to become the varied public services they are today.
“The exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of the 1925 ‘National Library of Scotland Act’, which saw the establishment of the National Library of Scotland, one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom.”
It is opening at the Central Library, on George IV Bridge, from Friday.
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THE ten most-viewed properties during last month - on the website of the Edinburgh Solicitors’ Property Centre - together amassed almost 60,000 views.
Says the ESPC, here, of the 58,492 views: “Edinburgh continued to dominate in terms of location, claiming six out of the ten spots on the list, underlining the capital’s unwavering appeal.
“The remaining properties were located across Fife (2), Midlothian (1) and East Lothian (1), suggesting that, while Edinburgh remains central to market activity, surrounding regions are also attracting significant interest - particularly from buyers seeking more space or coastal living.”
The most-viewed property last month was a terraced home in Craigleith.
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AN 18th-century panoramic view of Edinburgh has been reproduced for an exhibition taking place at an art gallery on Calton Hill.
Says the Collective Gallery, here: “In 1788, Irish artist Robert Barker created the first panorama – a 360-degree image capturing a continuous view of Edinburgh from Calton Hill.
“The original drawings were made by his son, Henry Aston Barker, from Observatory House – the oldest building on our site.
“Their work marks Calton Hill’s early connection to both scientific study and artistic innovation.
“At the centre of our Hillside Gallery is a large-scale reproduction of the 1792 aquatint of Barker’s ‘Panorama of Edinburgh’, offering a rare and detailed view of the late 18th-century cityscape.”
The ‘New Views of a City’ exhibition is on from now until December 21.
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A WALKING tour around The Shore, in Leith - showcasing its history and regeneration from the 1980s - is being organised for next week, by a planning officer with the city council.
Ross Irvine will be leading the tour, primarily in the role of an Academy of Urbanism member, which says, here: “It will show the ongoing changes to the neighbourhood since the previous AoU's 2023 Urbanism Awards assessment visit, themed around connectivity (trams and Leith Connections active travel works), community-led renewal (Coalie Park, Custom House and George Brown and Sons) and the continued growth of the area with new high density housing on the waterfront.
“There are many local bars and cafes to stop at afterwards for refreshments and further discussion.”
The tour is taking place a week on Thursday. Check it out, here.
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WHAT is being described as a ‘sustainable urban logistics and trade park’ in Sighthill is reportedly ‘practically completed’.
Reports Scottish Construction Now website, here, the park - on Bankhead Avenue -comprises 18 units, providing some 132,000 sq ft of space.
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A BUILDING site manager - responsible for a housing development near Cammo - has been reportedly recognised - again - for the high quality of his work.
Says the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, here: “Miller Homes is celebrating a major accolade for one of its employees in Edinburgh - as site manager, Derek Tait, has been awarded an NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Award for his work at the West Craigs Manor development.
“This marks Derek’s sixth time receiving the coveted award, highlighting his continued excellence and dedication in site management.”
Image details: Scott Monument, Princes Street; copyright Mike Wilson