Planning permission has been approved for a residential-led development on Beaverhall Road, Edinburgh, from Edinburgh City Council. The scheme, designed by shedkm for developer HUB and Bridges Fund Management, a specialist sustainable and impact investor, will provide 205 Build to Rent homes, including 52 affordable, as well as creative workspace co-designed with locals and a new publicly accessible courtyard.
The proposals for Beaverhall Road will replace an existing warehouse with a contemporary scheme that maintains the site’s status as a focal point for the local creative community, delivering 45% more creative workspace than provided by the current building, whilst bringing new homes to the area.
The scheme will prioritise both people and planet and has been developed in close collaboration with the local community and current businesses, with the ground floor creative workspace co-designed by the existing tenants, many of whom plan to move into the new development.
Amenity space has been carefully designed to provide a mixture of public and private space for the community and residents to enjoy. The focal point of the scheme will be a new public courtyard, Makers Yard, providing a space for relaxing and gathering for residents and commercial tenants, as well as neighbours. Two other landscape led courtyards will be provided – an enclosed courtyard, accessed by the creative spaces directly adjoining and a second more private courtyard, accessible by residents at upper ground level. A large rooftop terrace is also provided at level 5, providing a different setting and scenery with large amount of sunlight throughout the day. The new development will also feature a large mural by a local Edinburgh artist, on one of the external walls.
The plans exceed current Scottish sustainability regulations and include a biodiverse green roof, as well as a communal air source heat pump to provide environmentally responsible heating for the entire building. The designs maximise the potential of a brownfield city centre site and will deliver ‘tenure-blind’ homes, meaning all residents’ homes will be of the same high quality.
Situated in Canonmills, just north of Edinburgh’s New Town, the proposed development is within easy reach of the iconic city centre, while benefiting from a sense of community created by the area’s existing amenities.
James Spencer, Associate at shedkm, said: “We’re really excited to be working with HUB to preserve this creative heart in Edinburgh, while improving the built environment for the local community. We look forward to bringing our long-standing experience in regenerating areas across the UK, to create a modern, sustainable place that builds upon Edinburgh’s industrious heritage and remains a key piece of the city.”
Tom Valente, Development Manager at HUB, said: “We are hugely excited to be moving forward with one of our first developments in Edinburgh. It’s a fantastic city which has a long-established creative scene, and prides itself on its wealth of small, independent businesses. Our plans for Beaverhall will maintain the site’s status as a hive of creativity by placing studios and maker spaces at the heart of the development, alongside high quality, sustainable homes for local people.
What we are doing here demonstrates the potential to create lively mixed-use communities on urban brownfield sites, and this is a model that we want to champion both in Edinburgh and elsewhere across the UK.”