Former naval barracks at a destroyer base that played a key role in two world wars are to be converted into homes under plans to go before councillors next week.

The move to breathe new life into the derelict First World War buildings have been recommended to be granted permission by City of Edinburgh Council planning officials.

It includes creating 49 homes and a cafe at Port Edgar former naval barracks site, a collection of B listed structures in South Queensferry dating from 1918.

The developer said the site was used as a "holiday camp for unemployed people from Glasgow" in the early 1930s before becoming a key mine-sweeping base for Scotland during the Second World War.

Councillors are to make a decision on the proposals for the site on Wednesday.

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Developer Lar Housing Trust was established in 2015 with a £55 million loan from the Scottish Government and tasked to provide mid-market rental homes for households that would otherwise be at risk of financial hardship.

The buildings on the South Queensferry site have been completely derelict since 2011 and a target for antisocial behaviour and vandalism.

Lar said: "Development of the site will secure the survival of the listed buildings thus preserving this important example of a First World War naval barracks.

"Lar has carefully considered the site, context, history, and the options available for preserving the existing listed buildings and securing their long term future by bringing the site back in to use.

"As a conversion of existing derelict buildings, this site can be delivered in much shorter timescales than new-build developments, which will assist in the much needed delivery of new, affordable, energy efficient homes, whilst delivering green homes by removing carbon emissions from construction by retaining the embodied carbon in the existing buildings rather than demolishing and constructing new buildings."

Lar has delivered 29 sites with 665 homes across Scotland, ranging from Aberdeen to Ayr. 


Wetherspoon to reopen one of its oldest pubs in Scotland

JD Wetherspoon is poised to reopen one of its oldest pubs in Glasgow following a major refurbishment.

The pub giant will relaunch The Sir John Moore, which has traded on Argyle Street since 2002, on Friday October 6 after a £1.4 million revamp. The company, which has been working on the renovations since early August, said it has created 50 new jobs as a result of the extension. It had employed 80 people at the bar before the works started.