Green light for 7,000-home Edinburgh city extension

Edinburgh council has unanimously approved outline plans by 7N Architects for a 7,000-home extension to the Scottish capital which is one of the city’s largest residential developments in decades.

The £2bn West Town masterplan is being developed by local property investor Drum Property Group, which is now putting together a series of detailed applications for each phase of the scheme.

The scheme, designed by 7N Architects, will be located on a 205-acre site between Ingliston Park and Ride and the Gogar Roundabout at the city’s western edge.

Around 2,500 of the scheme’s homes will be for affordable tenures, just over 35% of the total in what Drum says is one of the largest investments in Edinburgh’s social housing in recent years.

The scheme will also include a 630-place primary school, a 1,200-place high school, a 300-bed hotel, a 300-room student accommodation scheme and 450,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and office space.

A new tram stop linked to the city’s tram network will be built in the centre of the site, which will also include some 27 acres of green space including a 5.5 acre park, several smaller parks, a ‘wildlife corridor’ and a network of cycling and walking routes.

Drum’s group managing director Graeme Bone said the project was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to make West Town an exemplar, sustainable 20-minute neighbourhood on a par with the best new developments taking place anywhere across the UK and Europe”.

He added: “The amount of space on the site, combined with its superb location, allows for a natural extension of the city, providing 7,000 mixed-tenure homes and new jobs in a well-designed 20-minute neighbourhood. 

“West Town also has direct access to some of the best public transport in Scotland – the tram line travels through the site and there are integrated rail, cycle and road connections, creating a strategic gateway for the west of Edinburgh.”

Initial phases will be focused on the new tram stop, creating a town centre early in the development together with homes, a new school and commercial, community and amenity spaces.