Once fully occupied, the site will deliver 388 affordable homes, a mixture of social rent and mid-market rent.

Housing convener Lezley Marion Cameron joined housing minister Paul Mclennan on a visit to the partially completed affordable housing development yesterday.

This follows the first tenants moving into Granton Station View where 75 energy efficient homes for social rent and mid-market rent were delivered in October last year. Work is also well underway to deliver a further 143 affordable ‘net zero ready’ homes at nearby Silverlea.

A housing emergency was declared in Edinburgh in November 2023 and so the affordable homes at Western Villages built by CCG (Scotland) Ltd on behalf of the council are much needed. The homes at Western Villages consist of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, including wheelchair-accessible ground-floor dwellings that will each benefit from stunning parkland and sea views. 

To achieve net zero carbon, the homes were constructed using advanced construction methods to improve thermal performance (and reduce heat loss). Delivered with an on-site energy centre containing air-source heat pumps and renewable technologies such as solar PV panels, this low carbon heat system and zero emissions strategy was supported by £4.1 million of funding from the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme. 

Sustainability credentials will be further enhanced by limited car parking spaces within the development, provision of Electric Vehicle charging and an increased emphasis on active travel, all in a bid to promote the use of more sustainable modes of transport. Other innovative features in the development include an underground waste collection system, cycle parking twice the capacity of the residents living there and links to existing and established walking, cycling and wheeling routes. 

This housing forms part of our wider £1.3 billion regeneration of Granton Waterfront. The next stage of delivery will get underway later this year with plans for a further 847 net zero ready homes, a new primary school, a low carbon heat network, commercial and retail space and new and upgraded active travel network. A grant of almost £16m was announced by the Scottish Government last week from its Housing Infrastructure Fund to help part fund some of the upfront site-wide infrastructure and enabling required for the next phase.

Housing convener Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron said: “We’re in the midst of a housing emergency so I’m delighted to see real progress being made to address it with these much-needed homes being delivered in Granton. These homes will not only ease our housing shortage, but they will provide individuals and families with comfortable modern homes using the very latest technology to keep energy bills down.

“I wish everyone moving into Western Villages well. It’s encouraging to know that hundreds of other individuals and families will be moving into these new homes at Granton Waterfront in the months ahead.”

Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “It was good to see the first residents at Western Villages moving into their new highly energy efficient social and mid-market rent homes. These have been supported with over £15m in funding since 2020 from our Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

“As the First Minister announced last week, a further £15.86m grant to the City of Edinburgh Council will be provided from our Housing Infrastructure Fund to help support the building of net zero homes at Granton Waterfront in further phases.

“Since 2007, we have delivered more than 135,000 affordable homes including 95,000 for social rent and 26,306 council homes. Furthermore, our budget of £768m for 2025–26 will help to tackle the housing emergency as well as move towards our target of providing 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.”

CCG director Calum Murray said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the housing minister to Western Villages today, Scotland’s largest net-zero ready residential development.

“Not only is the project a flagship for sustainable, all-tenure housing delivery in Edinburgh - including the city’s first-ever, net-zero ready homes for sale by CCG Homes - but it is also a leading example of what can be achieved through collaboration and partnership working.

“With the use of pioneering construction standards and a legacy of jobs and training, the positive impact of Western Villages will transcend the Granton Waterfront Regeneration, and we look forward to the weeks ahead as we welcome tenants and homeowners alike to this new, coastal community.”