Planners give eco-housing project the green light

Published Date: 18 September 2008
By ALAN RODEN

A NEW housing development featuring solar-powered water heaters and streets without pavements has received the go-ahead from the city council.
The 58-home project is the latest phase of Craigmillar's £200 million regeneration scheme, with demand for the new properties likely to be intense.New images were unveiled today of the buildings at The Square, which are designed to be environmentally-friendly and energy efficient, with a high level of insulation.Outside, a European-inspired "home zone" with no pavements, road signs or markings, is intended to strike a balance between traffic and everyone else who uses the street. Made famous in Holland in the 1970s, the presence of pedestrians is supposed to force traffic to drive more slowly and take greater care.The entire regeneration of Craigmillar will eventually include more than 3000 new homes, with 150 acres of surrounding green space transformed into a "green quarter" with parks, river walkways, woodland and play areas.The first stage of the project got under way in early 2007 and involved building a multi-million pound campus bringing together St Francis and Niddrie Mill primary schools. The overall scheme is designed to take 15 years to build, although the credit crunch has already caused some delays.Craig Fotheringham, development surveyor for the firm behind the project, Parc, said: "The creation of high quality, sustainable homes is at the heart of the regeneration process."The first batch of new homes to go on sale in the area proved popular earlier this year. Appointments to reserve the plots were snapped up within 12 minutes of phone lines opening. The latest development, around Wauchope Square, forms the eighth phase of work on the Craigmillar masterplan. It is due to be completed by 2010.The homes have been designed by Edinburgh-based architects, Smith Scott Mullan Associates.Director Alistair Scott said: "We have focused on lifestyle and technical issues, creating homes that are both economic to run and inspirational to live in."Highly energy efficient, with standards substantially in advance of current regulations, the homes achieve this through a high level of insulation and the use of a direct solar system to contribute to water heating."The development includes terraced and mews houses, duplex apartments and conventional flats, and Parc said there will be a "strong relationship" between the design of the buildings and the newly completed primary school. There will be a range of one and two-bedroom flats and four-bed family houses, with a mix of private and public landscaped gardens and communal courtyards. The masterplan for the town centre includes a large supermarket, a town square, and a £30m high school and public library.