Plans for £1bn neighbourhood with 3,000 homes, schools and shops near Edinburgh Airport

Plans have been drawn up to create a £1bn neighbourhood near Edinburgh Airport.

Developers are looking to build 3,000 homes, office space to support more than 4,000 jobs, shops and a new school on a brownfield site between the residential areas of Cammo, East Craigs, and South Gyle.

The £1bn development, named Elements Edinburgh, comes three months after the local authority declared a “housing emergency” due to a shortage of social rented homes and spirally rented costs.

The 72-acre site sits close to the commercial centres of Edinburgh Park and NatWest’s Gogarburn campus.

Plans include a mixture of one, two, and three-bedroom homes – designed to support affordability and intergenerational living – as well as a new primary school.

Another unrelated proposal was submitted last month for West Town development. In total, the two proposals promise to deliver some 10,000 new homes.

Edinburgh & East

Plans for £2bn neighbourhood with 7,000 homes unveiled

If approved, West Town would span 205 acres between Ingliston Park and Ride and the Gogar Roundabout.

The Elements Edinburgh neighbourhood will be “car-lite” with a lower level of car parking and will include a green urban park with nearly 10km of designated walking and cycling routes that weave through and around 500,000 sq ft of commercial space.

John Watson, chief executive of Crosswind Developments, said: “We’ve been working closely with the council’s planning officials for some time now to unlock this strategically important site in the west of the city and have invested £8m in this project since 2017.

“Elements Edinburgh will offer homes and commercial space, designed to provide the perfect blend of life, work, learning, and nature for all.

“We believe our proposals are not only notable in Edinburgh and regional terms, but are of national significance in terms of placemaking, sustainability, and economic impact. We want to partner with the best innovators in Scotland and embrace the latest in energy provision; focus on different forms of mobility rather than simply cars; and work in partnership with neighbouring landowners to achieve a joined-up approach to transport and other matters.

“We are keenly aware of the need for affordable housing across the city region and have taken great care to ensure the plans we submitted align with recent changes to the planning landscape, including the 2030 City Plan and NPF4.

“The new blueprint outlines our vision for the creation of a new community, featuring inclusive housing for a range of needs and incomes, a primary school, flexible places to work, facilities and services to meet daily needs, and generous green spaces that are well connected to the city and beyond by active travel and public transport.

“If realised, Elements Edinburgh promises to form a key part of west Edinburgh’s wider prosperity and economic growth and will provide hundreds of people with high-quality, sustainable homes. The feedback we received through the consultation process shows that local stakeholders are receptive to and supportive of our vision.”