Craigiehall barracks set for 1200-home '˜village' project

The Ceremony of Beating of Reatreat at Craigiehall in 2001. Picture: Colin White

Plans have been unveiled which, if approved, would see hundreds of properties and a transport “hub” constructed on land at Craigiehall, to the west of the city.

Detail on transport and other support facilities, including schools, has yet to be released, although developer representatives said full blueprints would be made available for public consultation. It is believed the scheme may include a park-and-ride area.

Submission of the proposal comes after the Ministry of Defence revealed it was looking to sell Craigiehall barracks as part of a shake-up aimed at accommodating troops returning from Germany.

Situated off the A90 Queensferry Road and close to the airport, the large base is considered a prime residential site which is ripe for development.

Political figures said they were open-minded about the plans, adding that they would wait until more information is published before forming a definite view. But they stressed that developers would have to consider the impact on already busy nearby roads.

Local Conservative councillor Lindsay Paterson said: “There has been housing here before, with the barracks, which I suppose contributed to the traffic on that road.

“If you’re building that number of homes, I’d be concerned about the impact on local infrastructure – the road network, for example.

“If there were 1200 homes then that would be in addition to what’s already going forward in the LDP, with more than 1000 in Queensferry, hundreds at Cammo and more at Maybury.”

She added: “The community council has talked about queueing traffic at rush hour, and that’s without the extra cars that would be there with this proposal.”

Local independent councillor Alastair Shields said it was important to ensure the Craigiehall scheme does not threaten Edinburgh’s green belt.

He said: “I’m intrigued about this, obviously. The plans should not be an encouragement to the idea that the surrounding area is up for grabs.”

In a letter to city planners, Rick Finc, of Rick Finc Associates, who is working on the project with Hallam Land management, said: “The description of the proposed development is yet to be agreed and the scope and content of the proposals may be subject to amendment during the course of the consultation and application process, during which the public will have the opportunity to make formal representations.”

[email protected]