Green light for affordable housing development at Newcraighall East with 220 homes, park and transport links

A new affordable housing village with 220 new homes will be built on the edge of Edinburgh, after ambitious plans were given the go-ahead.

The plans are to be developed by housing specialists Cullross Ltd and will see mixed-residential units brought to the area, located east of Glennie Road. Flats, colonies, and townhouses are included in the plans, with 163 being for affordable housing which will be delivered by Cullross on behalf of Hillcrest Homes.

Along with 75 per cent of the homes proposed to be affordable properties, there are also plans to create a two-hectare park and new transport links to Musselburgh train station. Proposals for shops in the new development were refused permission.

It forms part of a £60m investment by Cullross and will see a mix of one bedroom, two bedroom, three bedroom flats, three bedroom garden flats, two bedroom accessible flats and four bedroom houses at the site. The village will link in with the signalised junction being formed for the adjacent New Brunstane development.

A new park will be created providing extensive amenity for both the existing and new residents, along with any visitors to the area. There will also be a new active travel route formed to Musselburgh Train Station creating links and access to the city centre, allowing residents to get to the city centre in 15 minutes.

The site, which is within a 20-minute walk of Fort Kinnaird Retail Park and Queen Margaret University, will host 137 car parking spaces. Proposals include education and healthcare contributions to mitigate its impact on the local area.

Mark Beaton, director of Cullross Ltd., said: "We are delighted to have had our application for residential development at Newcraighall East granted, subject to conditions. Extensive community consultation was undertaken on our ambitious proposals which will bring much-needed housing, the majority of which will be affordable housing, to Edinburgh.

“We were particularly keen to ensure that there is extensive greenspace available to the local community, including delivering a substantial landscaped open park. As the project progresses to site, we look forward to continuing to engage with the local community on this.”

The council’s development management sub-committee have granted permission for the development, subject to several conditions, including ‘intrusive’ site investigations. Planners have requested that a site survey be carried out to establish the risks to health posed by past coal mining activity, along with any required remedial works.

The proposed development is allocated as housing site HSG27 in the council’s Local Development Plan, where residential development is acceptable in principle. Angela Linton, Hillcrest chief executive, said: “We’re delighted to again partner with Cullross to deliver another high-profile development. The 163 Hillcrest properties, which will form a significant portion of this development in Newcraighall, will offer a welcome boost of high-quality affordable housing to the city of Edinburgh.”

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