Plans submitted for first phase of £1bn Edinburgh ‘Garden District’

Murray Estates’ plans will see 1500 homes, a new primary school and a network of roads and streets built on land next to Edinburgh Park and the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters at Gogarburn.

A quarter of the initial development – 375 properties – will be affordable housing, with the remainder split between private homes and apartments.

The plan is part of a larger project which could see up to 6000 homes built in the west of Edinburgh.

The overall plan also features a 60-acre National Garden – known as the Calyx – which would include water features and research facilities. Murray Estates said they would aim to have diggers on site for the first phase by 2017 if planning approval is secured.

Jestyn Davies, managing director at Murray Estates, told The Scotsman: “Edinburgh and its neighbouring councils have set out ambitious plans to help grow the population by 200,000 over the next 20 years, and we see our proposals as one of the first to help achieve the council’s targets.

“Everyone knows that Edinburgh has a massive shortfall in housing supply and the council has set out a clear vision for the delivery of major new housing developments in ‘growth areas’ based on the proposals being taken forward in Cambridge.

“Our proposals can help turn that vision into a reality.”

Murray Estates said that, with three tram stops and Edinburgh Park railway station close by, the Garden District site was perfectly placed to accommodate the development’s scale.

Stressing that the first phase would support 250 jobs and inject around £315 million into essential infrastructure such as schools, Mr Davies added: “The plans propose developing areas in close proximity to Heriot-Watt research park, with the Garden District ideally placed to link with and serve the Heriot-Watt campus.

“The site is within a strategic development area, it is close to the tram line and we can deliver the entire necessary infrastructure to turn the council’s vision into bricks and mortar.

“Our proposals are ‘shovel ready’ and can be the first of the new ‘growth zones’ in the Edinburgh area.”