Construction, worth £72 million, has begun on the Western Villages project in Granton, a district in the north of Edinburgh, that will fund the building of 444 new homes. This project is part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s £1.3 billion Granton Waterfront Regeneration Project.
The project is set to create a sustainable community by the coast with 3,500 houses and related infrastructure to be built within the next ten years. The homes are set to be built using construction methods that release no heat, in order for the construction work to be net zero.
This development will be a step in the
right direction to make Edinburgh
a net zero city by 2030.
Energy is being supplied by an on-site centre, that produces renewable energy through solar panels and heat is being supplied through heat pumps, which are low carbon. To support this low carbon and zero emission development the Scottish Government have given £4.1 million of support through its Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme.
Workers at the development are also being encouraged to ditch their cars to adopt other ways of getting to work, such as walking or cycling, to lower the carbon footprint of the development further. Those with electric vehicles (EVs) will have the opportunity to charge their vehicles on site as charging points have been set up.
Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, has stated that “this first phase of Granton Waterfront will act as a blueprint for future sustainable development and [will] help Scotland transition towards a greener economy.”
2024 is the set target for completion of the development, and there is hope that this development will be a step in the right direction to make Edinburgh a net zero city by 2030.
