The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has backed Artisan Real Estate’s regeneration project plans to deliver 168 new homes at the former Caledonian Brewery site in Shandon, Edinburgh.
Artisan Real Estate submitted proposals to turn the historic brewery into a residential development with a mix of private and affordable housing.
David Westwater, managing director for Scotland at Artisan, said: “Artisan is committed to delivering this new, sustainable residential neighbourhood in a complex and historically important city centre site, providing a healthy mix of new homes and affordable housing in line with the Council’s policy to help tackle the city’s housing emergency.
“Building high-quality, sustainable homes in sensitive and unique urban sites such as the brewery site is a lengthy, complex and expensive process – but we are confident that our comprehensive proposals will set new standards for the homes-led regeneration for this historically important city centre site.
“Artisan is committed to delivering high quality urban living for everyone in well-connected central areas bringing interest, investment and life back into the heart of our cities, rather than seeing city centre sites just being delivered for student accommodation and build-to-rent properties.”
Westwater added: “Whilst we support a vibrant mix of residential tenures, including student accommodation and build-to-rent, we believe there should be a place for mainstream housing in our city centres too.”
The plans include using around a fifth of the new homes in the listed buildings, which will be preserved and repurposed.
The rest of the development will respect the brewery’s original footprint, including rebuilding the skyline of the maltings buildings lost to a fire almost 30 years ago.
A spokesperson for Heineken UK said: “Having received a number of bids, we believed that Artisan’s plans to deliver a 100% residential scheme delivered the best outcome for the community as well as meeting the Council’s ambitions in terms of delivering sustainable housing.
“We are pleased that the planning officers have recommended this proposal which preserves the brewery’s legacy for future generations.”
