In this week’s edition:
City-wide ‘heat networks’;
847 homes reportedly earmarked for Granton;
Private renting prices;
Expressions of interest sought for pair of Wester Hailes sites;
Restoration on the cards for RAAC-affected homes;
University building declared an architecture award winner;
Edinburgh an expensive place to enjoy a ‘city break’;
Corstorphine Hospital - its history;
Upcoming ‘architecture reassembled’ exhibition;
Edinburgh College of Art graduates show;
Road works average 80 days;
Ticket office switch at Waverley;
West Princes Street and gardens - reimagined;
Renewals extension for ‘no complaints’ short-term lets;
Hotel plan backed for Cameron Toll;
Pathway restored on Water of Leith;
Housing association strikes bank financing deal;
Planning permission being sought for former Granton car factory;
Church service marks near-end of renovation project;
Congestion charging back on the agenda?;
Early outdoor seating approved, initially as a trial;
Astley Ainslie building demolition request;
£1.4m announced for Powderhall regeneration works;
Competition entries invited from architecture students';
Georgian architecture display;
Consultation event: proposed student accommodation on Russell Road;
Report of ‘controlled rage’ at Portobello car parking meeting;
Debate about Edinburgh’s future transport needs;
Decade’s worth of ‘city mobility’ plans agreed; and
Enjoy!
THE ambition to serve Edinburgh with a series of large ‘heat networks’ is being considered by a council committee next week, with the recommendation that the council hooks up with presumably a private sector partner to make it happen.
On Tuesday, the council’s Policy and Sustainability committee meets to consider a paper recommending it becomes a minority partner in a city-wide project.
Says the paper, here: “This report sets out a recommended delivery model for rolling-out heat networks in Edinburgh: a joint venture in which the council holds a minority position.
“This model is considered to achieve a high degree of risk transfer and minimise calls on council finances, while still giving the council a long-term interest in, and degree of influence over, heat network development in Edinburgh.”
The paper goes on to to say: “Heat networks are a long-established solution for heating buildings, and in recent years have been conceived as a means of decarbonising heat in buildings. There are over 150 heat networks and communal heating systems in Edinburgh; however, most of these are relatively small-scale, and the majority are gas-fired.”
It additionally says: “The council has not historically had significant involvement with large-scale heat networks, albeit several properties within the housing estate utilise communal heating systems or small-scale heat networks.
“As part of the regeneration of Granton Waterfront, the council has developed proposals for a ‘zero-carbon’ heat network utilising sewer-source heat pumps serving the area.
“On November 21 2023, Finance and Resources Committee agreed [as reported here] to award a contract for pre-development services for the heat network to Vattenfall Heat UK Limited.
“One of the key outputs from the Edinburgh Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy is the identification of 17 prospective heat network zones throughout Edinburgh: areas of the city where heat networks are considered to have the greatest likelihood of being successful.”
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PLANNING permission has reportedly been approved for 847 homes in Granton, by the gas holder there.
Reports Kevin Quinn, in the Edinburgh Evening News (here): “The planning application, submitted by Cruden Homes on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, which is leading the scheme as part of the Edinburgh Waterfront team, is for 847 new homes, including 387 (46 per cent) affordable homes, and 2,249 sqm of commercial space.”
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THE average private sector rental price for a home in Edinburgh during the first three months of this year is estimated to have been £1,506, representing an 1.6 per cent increase on the same time last year.
More specifically, an one-bedroom property came in at £1,055, while a three-bedroom one was £1,935.
The figures were produced by the property rental agency, Citylets, here, and reported on the website of the Edinburgh Solicitors’ Property Centre, here.
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EXPRESSIONS of interest are being sought by the council, for two possible residential sites in Wester Hailes.
The sites are a former council services hub on Murrayburn Road, called the Murrayburn Depot, and a former care home on Clovenstone Gardens.
Says the description on the website, Public Contracts Scotland, here: “A feasibility study has shown that the Murrayburn Depot could deliver circa 150 homes, and the former Clovenstone Nursing Home could deliver between 66 and 115 new homes.”
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OWNERS of 17 flats in the city are to be asked if they want to sell their properties to the council, as part of a remedial programme following the discovery of the now infamous lightweight concrete system, Reinforced Autoclaved Air-entrained Concrete (RAAC) - which has been recently found to be at risk of failure if it has come into contact with moisture.
It follows an unanimous decision by the council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee, held last week (here).
Seventy-two current and former council houses and flats have been found to be in RAAC-affected blocks of flats, and the 17 are in blocks of flats where a minority of the properties are owned by the council.
Forty-four of the 72 continue to be owned by the council and are part of the remedial programme.
Of the remaining 11, they too are privately-owned but this time in blocks of flats where the council is the majority owner.
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AN University of Edinburgh building has been declared a winner at awards run by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
Says the RIAS, here, of The Nucleus Building, designed by Sheppard Robson: “A vibrant new heart for the University of Edinburgh, this building seamlessly unites teaching, learning and social spaces.
“The project’s real success lies in its spatial organisation: a rich array of breakout areas, social spaces and study environments support different ways of learning, from quiet individual focus to lively collaboration.
“This diversity of space types allows the building to flex with changing modes of study, teaching and socialising, making it a resilient and responsive learning environment for students.
“The judges described the Nucleus Building as a deftly-executed piece of civic architecture – a considered, enduring and generous response to a multifaceted brief that sets a powerful precedent for the future of university design in Scotland.”
It adds: “The 11 winners of [these] 2025 RIAS Awards will now become the ‘longlist’ for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award [to be announced circa November].”
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WHATEVER the attractions of Edinburgh are, for visitors from both far and near, they appear to be paying top dollar for the privilege - according to a story issued on behalf of the travel money service provided by the Post Office.
Says the Post Office, of the 38 European cities it has surveyed, Edinburgh was ranked among the most expensive, for a short ‘city break’ - ‘beaten’ only by Oslo, Norway, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
Riga in Latvia was found to be the cheapest place to go for a city break this year. “Its total cost was a little under £253”.
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THE fire at the abandoned Corstorphine Hospital last week has prompted well-known local historian, Andy Arthur, to investigate the building’s long association with the city, stretching back to 1867 when it opened as the Convalescent Home for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Read it, here.
Five years ago, the website, Scottish Construction Now, reported (here) that planning permission had been approved to convert the hospital into 32 apartments, with a further 44 new-build apartments set to be built on-site - to designs by Michael Laird Architects.
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HEADS up: If, in a couple of weeks’ time, you find yourself in Bruntsfield, you might want to nip down to Barclay Terrace, near the Barclay Church, and its charming tiny art gallery, Upright.
From a week tomorrow until the 20th of next month, it is exhibiting the work of two artists, under the title, ‘Architecture Reassembled’.
The artists are Ros Lawless and Charles Young, the latter specialising in architecture models.
Read more, here.
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ANOTHER heads up: the work of this year’s architecture graduates at the Edinburgh College of Art goes on display, from next Friday.
Until the following Friday.
Book your ticket here.
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FROM the architecture section at this year’s Royal Scottish Academy annual exhibition (open until the eighth of next month, mostly from 10am), one of the more arresting items is a video installation, reimagining west Prince Street and gardens - by Richard Murphy Architects.
It can be viewed, here, on the video sharing platform, YouTube.
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THE average time of roadworks being completed in Edinburgh is said to be 80 days - according to a Freedom of Information request of 78 UK local authorities, which yielded responses from 45 of them.
At 80 days, it places the capital as the longest for average roadwork durations -according to a survey conducted by tyre specialists, Blackcircles.
Says the company, here: “Of the road closures in the area last year, there was a group of six nearby roads between Pilrig Park and the Hibernian Football Club ground, Easter Road. These works took 1,278 calendar days (903 working days) to complete.”
Meanwhile, when to comes to road closures, Edinburgh came in at No.3, at an average 59 days.
Blackcircles continues: “The longest road closure in the area was on South St David Street, which will last around 547 calendar days and is expected to end later in 2025.”
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THE Waverley rail station ticket office has been relocated - from the concourse to Platform 5.
Ticket machines are currently still located in the concourse.
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OPERATORS of short-term lets in the city are no longer required to renew their license every year, but every three years - so long as their letting has not been the subject of a complaint.
It follows a decision earlier this week by the city council’s Regulatory committee, here.
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PLANNERS have backed a plan to build a hotel at Cameron Toll shopping centre.
Says a media release announcing the backing of planners: “The proposals are being brought forward by Franklin Real Asset Advisor Value-Add, an affiliate of Benefit Street Partners L.L.C., a Franklin Templeton company, in partnership with Hunter REIM, the team behind the recently-approved Ruby Hotel proposals in Princes Street.”
Councillors on the city’s Development Management committee - taking place (see here for the whole agenda) on Wednesday will consider the application (here).
Reports The Herald’s Brian Donnelly (here), if the 109-bedroom building goes ahead, it would border a proposed second tram line in the city, from north to south.
Writes Donnelly: “The plans [assuming they are realised] will help secure the future of the shopping centre, which is described as the largest private sector employer in the area.”
The media release quotes Andrew Moffat,, managing director of Hunter REIM, as saying: “We’ve worked hard to ensure the new hotel proposals will blend appropriately with the council’s tram proposals.
“We support the council’s aim of introducing a tram and, if possible, re-opening the South Suburban Loop [rail line, see here for its latest possible iteration] to passenger traffic.
“These plans will significantly enhance access to the centre via public transport, aligning with the broader goal of reducing car dependency.”
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A SECTION of path on the Water of Leith has been restored, the waterway’s conservation trust has announced.
Says The Water of Leith Conservation Trust, of the Redbreast Tunnel restoration work, here: “For years, the tunnel and surrounding path have been plagued by persistent flooding and surface degradation.
“After heavy rain, water would rise to shin height and linger for weeks, rendering this core section of the path impassable - cutting off key access to St Marks Park, local schools and National Cycle Network Route 75.”
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AN Edinburgh housing association - with over 1,000 ‘social rent’ homes on its books - has struck a bank financing deal to be partly used to upgrade its properties.
Manor Estates says it will use the £13m secured from the Royal Bank of Scotland “to refinance a former housing loan” with the balance used to “maintain and improve the quality of its affordable housing”.
It adds, here: “This support from Royal Bank of Scotland is part of the NatWest Group’s broader ambition for the UK affordable housing sector to fund £7.5 billion across the UK between January 2024 and year-end 2026 (as explained, here).”
It says of itself, here: “Manor Estates was established in 1995 following the transfer of over 900 houses in Edinburgh from [the now no longer government agency] Scottish Homes. Since then, we have built and acquired a number of new houses across the city.”
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PLANNING permission is being sought to build 28 townhouses on the site of a former car factory in Granton.
The Madelvic factory is said to be the oldest purpose-built car factory in the UK (here).
It is ‘B-listed’ (here).
The client is housing charity, Lar Housing Trust, the planning application reference is 25/02543/LBC (here) and the architects are Hypostyle Architects.
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A COMMUNION service was held on Sunday, to mark the near completion of a renovation project on one of Portobello’s oldest buildings.
Said St Mark’s Episcopal Church, on Portobello High Street, over a fortnight ago, here: “Although the renovation won’t be quite finished, we are delighted that we will be worshipping back in the building on Sunday 18 May. The Rt Rev John Armes, bishop of Edinburgh, will join us and preside and preach at the service.”
Its renovation story can be read, here.
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A ‘CONVERSATION’ about congestion charging - payments by road users coming into Edinburgh - looks like it is back on the political agenda, following the topic being aired at the city’s Transport and Environment committee, which met yesterday.
At around the 3:49:53 mark during the committee’s proceedings - here - Cllr Chas Booth (Scottish Greens) began to successfully advance an addendum about congestion charging, to raise the money to uncork several City Mobility Plan projects that have been paused, such as a ‘20-minute neighbourhood’ in Portobello.
In 2005, a poll of Edinburhg’s residents rejected congestion charging.
But maybe a change of heart is in the offing, as reported here (The Edinburgh Reporter), here (Edinburgh Live) and here (Edinburgh Evening News).
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AND the same Transport and Environment committee agreed - with caveats - that pavement seating hours be extended, to allow for early morning seating.
Councillors were asked to approve hours of between 7.30am–10pm (9pm in the Grassmarket area) with effect from July 1.
Read more, here, and watch the committee debate the topic from the 2:06:55 mark, here, and its decision around the 2:32:00 mark.
There was a concern about whether the proposal should have gone through a consultation exercise.
The main caveat is that the decision will be reviewed in a year - effectively making this next 12 months a trial period.
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A PLANNING application has been submitted to demolish a building on the Astley Ainslie hospital site in Morningside.
The application - ref 25/02523/CON, here - involves the non-listed Millbank Pavillion, which is located in a ‘Conservation’ area.
Says a covering letter (here) from property consultants, Montagu Evans: “We act on behalf of Morrison Construction / NHS Lothian and hereby enclose an application for Conservation Area Consent in respect of the ‘demolition of existing non-listed building’ at land at theAstley Ainslie Hospital, 143 Grange Loan, Edinburgh.
“Our client owns the land to which the application relates.”
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SOME £1.4m has been announced by the Scottish Government, towards the regeneration of a former waste disposal site in Powderhall.
The sum is part of a £21.5m support package from the government to bring 24 disused or derelict sites and buildings - across Scotland - into use, “creating more than 160 jobs and support nearly 900 training opportunities”.
Says the Scottish Government, here: “Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, confirmed the 2025-26 allocations from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme during a visit to Powderhall in north Edinburgh.
“The City of Edinburgh Council will receive £1.4 million for remedial works at the former waste disposal site, paving the way for a housing-led regeneration project that will provide 259 homes, including affordable housing.”
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SCOTLAND’S architecture students are being invited to enter an annual competition celebrating their work.
Says the Scottish Government agency, Architecture & Design Scotland, of the awards, which it is co-hosting with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland: “The… awards provide a place to bring together the five schools of architecture in Scotland to celebrate the continuing high standards of Scottish architecture. It ensures that both construction professionals and the public can enjoy the creativity and vision of Scotland's future architects.”
The deadline for entries is the 27th of next month. Read more, here.
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A 25 foot-wide panorama of Georgian Edinburgh has gone on display, for the public to enjoy.
Says the National Registers of Scotland, which is hosting the display: “Visitors can step inside the circular panorama for a view of the city as it was in 1788. The painting shows the Old and New Towns, and landmarks including Edinburgh Castle and General Register House itself.”
Adds the NRS, here: “The panorama can be viewed [at General Register House, Princes Street] between 9 am and 4 pm on weekdays from 26 May to 27 June. Admittance is free.”
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A CONSULTATION event is taking place on the fourth of next month, regarding plans to build student accommodation on Russell Road.
As announced, here.
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CLAIMS of ‘controlled rage’ have been reported by the Edinburgh Evening News’s Ian Swanson - from a car parking meeting held in Portobello.
Swanson quotes local councillor, Tim Jones, describing the meeting, held in Portobello Town Hall on Tuesday evening.
A formal consultation (here) ends today, on proposals to introduce a so-called Controlled Parking Zone from King’s Road to Joppa, operating seven days a week, 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Read more, here.
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EDINBURGH’S future transport needs is the topic of a debate being hosted by the city’s Chamber of Commerce - next month.
Speakers include Glen Lyons, Professor of Future Mobility, Mott MacDonald; Deborah Paton, head of Transport Strategy and Partnerships, The City of Edinburgh Council; and Sarah Boyd, managing director, Lothian Buses.
It is taking place on the 24th of next month, here.
The Chamber’s events calendar can be viewed, here.
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FOLLOWING last week’s story on BuildEdinburgh (here) about various projects likely to be approved or paused - as councillors were about to consider the cost of implementing a City Mobility Plan - what is being described as a ‘decade’s worth of priorities’ have since been agreed.
Reports the council, here: “This programme effectively manages the resources we have, to continue to deliver on our City Mobility Plan objectives to: Reduce the volume of traffic going through the city; Improve how we move around the city, with more options for sustainable travel, including prioritising public transport; Provide safer conditions for walking, wheeling and cycling; Reduce harmful emissions; Provide better access to local facilities like shops, schools and outdoor spaces; and Improve community and public spaces.”
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Image details: Vita Group purpose-built student accommodation (here), under construction as part of a Waverley regeneration scheme; copyright Mike Wilson (editor too of TheHousingDebate.Substack.com)