Proposals to create Scotland’s largest ‘net zero’ housing development in Edinburgh have been granted approval by city planners.
The 444-home Western Villages is being led by the City of Edinburgh Council in partnership with Glasgow-based contractor CCG (Scotland) and architect Cooper Cromar.
The development will form part of the Granton Waterfront Regeneration, where over 3,500 homes are set to be created over the next ten years.
The homes have been designed to the principles of CCG’s newly launched ‘Net Zero Home’ housebuilding standard. Developed in collaboration with energy and sustainability consultancy, Carbon Futures, the Net Zero Home focuses on enhanced fabric performance, low carbon heating and renewable technology as part of a gas-free energy strategy to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (arising from regulated operational energy use) to a rate less than or equal to zero per year.
With an ambitious target to become a ‘net zero’ city by 2030, this first phase of Granton Waterfront will act as a blueprint for future sustainable development and help Scotland to transition towards a greener economy.
City of Edinburgh Council’s Vice Convener for the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee, Councillor Mandy Watt, said: “All of the steps we’re taking to make homes more sustainable will reduce the energy they use once occupied, thereby helping us to tackle climate change and become net zero carbon by 2030. That’s why we’re pleased to have CCG working with us as they adopt a new ground-breaking housebuilding standard.
“It’s great to see this development with a large proportion of social rent homes get planning approval. We have incredibly ambitious plans which form the bedrock of our housing strategy over the next ten years. There is a critical need for more affordable homes in Edinburgh and we are responding to that through the commitment to build 20,000 social and affordable homes by 2027.”
Western Villages forms part of the wider Granton Waterfront regeneration project which will create one of Europe’ s largest coastal city parks, providing opportunities for residents and visitors to reconnect with the city’s waterfront by offering more areas for leisure and outdoor experiences, civic spaces and sustainable housing.
