Watch as nearly 400 new homes take shape in Scottish city

The new build-to-rent neighbourhood in Leith, Edinburgh, will include family and affordable housing, across four apartment blocks and provide 1.3 acres of new public realm space.

London-based Goodstone Living and Belfast-headquartered contractor McAleer and Rushe marked the “topping out” moment at the Dockside development.

Dockside is a 2.5 acre waterside development project on Leith’s Albert Docks that will deliver 373 new sustainable rental homes, including family and 25% affordable housing dwellings, as well as one acre of public realm space for the local community.

The homes will be distributed across four buildings, ranging from 10 to 14 storeys, which will feature resident amenities such as a rooftop lounge and dining area, a fitness centre, and co-working spaces.

The Dockside homes are across four blocks (Image: 3DReid) Construction of the scheme commenced in March 2023 and residents are expected to move into the first building from summer 2025.

Together, Goodstone and McAleer and Rushe have so far created 53 new jobs through the project, of which approximately 42 per cent were filled by local people, as well as six apprenticeships. An additional 16 community projects have been created, supporting 272 local residents, and 46 hours of skills training have been provided.

The latest stage represents a "significant milestone" for Goodstone, which manages the development on behalf of the Northern Local Government Pension Scheme, including Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire pension funds.

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Lee Hawkins, construction director at Goodstone, said: “The topping out of dockside is an important milestone for this Goodstone project and symbolises the continued realisation of our vision at both a corporate and portfolio level.

“We are committed to creating long term value in the communities in which we operate, through the delivery of high-quality and sustainable housing, as well as a significant investment in social value initiatives for the local community. Our Dockside project is set to become one of Edinburgh’s most sustainable housing developments with a forecast reduction in carbon of over 30% for embodied carbon and over 50% for operational carbon vs. our established benchmarks.”

Daniel Johnson, the Edinburgh MSP, said that the city “is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy, with the availability of private and social housing for local communities being its bedrock”, adding: “Increasing supply and bringing new stock to market across a range of tenures is critical to addressing the housing emergency and ensuring the city retains its reputation as one of the UK and Europe’s most desirable places to live and invest in.”

Paul Marlow, contracts director at McAleer and Rushe, said: “It’s a proud moment to mark the topping out of Dockside in Edinburgh, a key milestone in delivering an outstanding scheme which will provide much needed homes, jobs and public realm space in Leith.

“We are especially proud to be delivering Dockside in a way that has a lasting positive impact on the local community, reflecting our shared commitment with Goodstone to drive social value and lead from the front of sustainable development. Collectively, we are setting a new standard in the Scottish Build to Rent market, and there’s no doubt the development will be a magnificent addition to the city’s historic docklands.”