The start of construction works at the £72m Western Villages project represents a milestone for the City of Edinburgh in the delivery of its £1.3bn Granton Waterfront regeneration project. Over the 10 ten years, 3,500 mixed-tenure homes and associated infrastructure are planned for construction.

The 444-home masterplan for Western Villages, on West Shore Road, shows one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, including wheelchair-accessible ground-floor dwellings, available in a mix of tenures with parkland and sea views.

The development will exploit all the vogue technologies including air-source heat pumps and solar photovoltaic panels, and will have electric vehicle charging points, but will only attain net zero status through an as-yet unspecified amount of offsetting.

Set for completion in 2024, the homes for rent will be managed by the city council while the private homes will be sold by CCG Homes, the private housing arm of the CCG Group.

Councillor Jane Meagher, housing, homelessness and fair work convener on City of Edinburgh Council led the ground breaking ceremonies. She said: “We are so proud to lead the country’s biggest net zero housing development and to break ground today. 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 transition towards a greener economy. This housing is going to provide hundreds of affordable homes, right at the centre of what will be Edinburgh’s newest neighbourhood – offering a fantastically lively, active, and sustainable waterfront lifestyle for everyone who moves in…. This is the start of an exciting new chapter for the city and for how we build new homes and new neighbourhoods and I look forward to seeing it all take shape.”

CCG managing director David Wylie said: “CCG’s contribution to the regeneration of Granton is significant with over 500 homes set to be under construction by the middle of this year. Western Villages, alongside a further 75 homes with the council at Waterfront Avenue (known as Granton D1, the first pilot project of the Edinburgh Homes Demonstrator initiative), will play a major role in the creation of this new coastal community and also help shape our understanding and capabilities of net zero housing delivery in Edinburgh and across Scotland.

“We are very proud to be pioneering applied research and development into net zero housebuilding to support our economy’s green ambitions whilst also ensuring that high-quality, highly energy efficient homes remain accessible to our communities.”

Got a story? Email [email protected]