West Town Edinburgh, the development consortium which owns 205 acres of land to the west of Edinburgh, has agreed a joint approach with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver a new 20-minute neighbourhood for the city.
The Memorandum of Understanding sets out how they will work to prepare a delivery strategy for the site.
The agreement was announced by Cammy Day, leader of the City of Edinburgh Council and Graeme Bone, group managing director of Drum Property Group, developers of West Town, at the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum in Leeds.
The site, located between Ingliston Park and Ride and the Gogar Roundabout, was previously identified in the council’s City Plan 2030 as having the potential to become a high-density city extension with a capacity for 7,000 homes, along with the commercial and community facilities required for a 20-minute neighbourhood.
The developer stated that the £2bn proposals also align with the ambitions of the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4, which was approved in February. The Edinburgh Tram route runs directly through the site, with a new station potentially set to be created.
Subject to the relevant council policies and planning consents, Drum hopes that work will start on site next year, with the first phase of homes and community amenities being ready from early 2026.
Day said: “Edinburgh is quickly becoming a trailblazer for the type of affordable, sustainable homes our residents need and this overlooked land at West Town could pave the way for thousands more.
“We are leading the way as a city to harness new technologies to make developments greener and fairer - building low and zero carbon homes which are energy and cost efficient - so I’m looking forward to working with West Town Edinburgh to build on our net zero ambitions.
“Currently, over 150 households bid for every council and housing association home that becomes available, so we must set our sights on this development unlocking a huge amount social housing - with demand for affordable homes higher than ever before, this is what our city desperately needs.”
Bone added: “The amount of space on the site combined with its superb location allows for a natural extension for the city providing 7,000 mixed-tenure homes and new jobs in a new 20-minute neighbourhood.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the council to advance our shared vision to create a new, sustainable urban quarter for the city.”
Drum is currently working on several mixed-use projects across Scotland, including the Buchanan Wharf and Candleriggs Square developments in Glasgow.
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