Proposals for almost 850 new homes in a Scottish city currently going through a housing crisis have been brought forward.

The City of Edinburgh Council in partnership with Cruden Homes plans "to transform part of the Scottish capital’s largest brownfield site into an exciting new development", are available to view on the council's planning portal.

It will include net zero homes, capacity for a new primary school and low carbon heat network, commercial units, active travel routes and other sustainable transport infrastructure "as well as attractive public and open space".

The first phase of a £1.3 billion "sustainable new coastal town" at Granton Waterfront will have 35% of homes in affordable tenure.

The council said warm, energy efficient, family and wheelchair accessible homes will connect to a low carbon heat network from Vattenfall.

The centrepiece of the "nationally significant" development of Edinburgh’s coastline is the iconic Granton gasholder, currently being restored to become a public park.

Fraser Lynes, managing director of Cruden Homes, said: "We have thoroughly enjoyed working closely with the council, local community and key stakeholders to create a transformational design that reconnects the Capital to the Firth of Forth.

"This landmark, landscape-led development of Edinburgh’s coastline takes a fresh approach to urban regeneration which will create an exciting new coastal community set to become one of Europe's largest waterside amenities. Moreover, the delivery of 847 much needed, high quality and sustainable new homes across all tenures will make an important contribution to alleviating the well documented housing emergency."

Cammy Day, council leader, said: "We’ve been consulting with people every step of the way to deliver this project. I’m really pleased that after listening to feedback from the local community and others interested in the area, the team has submitted plans for the largest regeneration project of its kind in Scotland at Granton Waterfront as part of the £1.3 billion regeneration. To deliver our net zero targets for the Capital, sustainable regeneration is so important and every element of this development has been designed with that in mind.

"We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a 20-minute neighbourhood completely from scratch which includes affordable net zero homes, shops, cultural, leisure and education facilities all close by. Our plans show how the new neighbourhood will link to the rest of the city and beyond as well as to the many established communities nearby."

Scots firm to work at one of world's biggest gold mines

 

Wood Group has secured an $18 million contract to help support production at one of the world’s largest goldmines.

The Aberdeen-based engineering giant said it will support Newmont, the world’s biggest gold mining firm, to enhance the condition and performance of the Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea. Wood will provide consulting and engineering services to support the safe and efficient processing of gold at various stages of the project life cycle, the company said. 

First Scottish fintech lab launched by accountancy firm

 

Accountancy firm EY has launched its first Scottish fintech “lab”, based in Edinburgh, to collaborate with start-up and scale-up companies in the sector.

Located in EY’s Edinburgh office, the new lab is described as “a dynamic workspace designed for collaboration, experimentation, and rapid test-and-learn prototyping”. EY, declaring its wish to “help Scotland become one of the world’s leading fintech clusters”, said: “Fintechs, potential investors, clients, established financial services firms, regulators and other partners based in Edinburgh and across the UK will be able to connect to share information, brainstorm ideas and develop real-world solutions to serve markets and customers more effectively.”