Scottish ministers approve called-in scheme in Edinburgh after noise concerns reviewed

Watkin Jones is currently in discussions with a local registered provider to procure and operate the affordable homes once they have been completed.

The scheme will also include the refurbishment of the most important elements of listed structures around a public square, linked to the site’s historic use as an agricultural market.

It will target a BREEAM rating – the Building Research Establishment’s environmental assessment method – incorporating air source heat pumps and solar panels.

The development is expected to be completed in 2029. According to Edinburgh’s local development plan, the city needs to build 36,750 homes over the next decade as well as 20,000 affordable homes before 2027.

A review last month of City of Edinburgh Council’s policy towards PBSA found that the recent increase in student numbers had not been matched by the requisite increase in the amount of managed student accommodation in the city.

Iain Smith, planning director at Watkin Jones, said: “Our new development helps to address Edinburgh’s housing needs across several tenures by delivering high-quality homes in a highly accessible location.

“We are not only relieving pressure on the city’s housing market but also contributing to a more sustainable city.

“Importantly, the development will also protect the most important elements of historic buildings for future generations and ensure the public has access to Heritage Square for years to come.”

In the summer, SNP councillor Danny Aston proposed a temporary ban on PBSA in Edinburgh during a council meeting, receiving a majority of 46 votes.

Mr Aston argued that the PBSA market remained buoyant, and developers had been using potential housing sites for these developments while there was an ongoing housing emergency in Scotland.

The development cycle for “schemes like this” took “at least two or three years”, so schemes completed today were “aimed at the realities” of two or three years ago, he added.

Mr Aston told councillors: “My concern is that if the council doesn’t step in as the state body responsible, as the planning authority to rein in the market here, our city may be left disfigured by white-elephant PBSA developments that no one wants.”

But Conservative councillor Joanna Mowat proposed an amendment that decisions on restricting PBSA should be included in the city’s new local plan instead.

She said it was “premature” to ask for a moratorium, as student housing numbers were being examined.