Edinburgh sees proposal for 293 flats in new 'residential serviced living development' next to Ocean Terminal in Leith

A proposed new residential development next to Leith’s Ocean Terminal will offer full-furnished flats at all-inclusive rents but also communal lounges and other shared social spaces to encourage “co-living”.

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The Ocean Point 2 “residential serviced living development” will have 293 units providing a mix of studio, one, two and three-bed apartments, 74 of them offered at affordable intermediate rent levels.

Target customers include local residents, young professionals, key workers and nomadic professionals drawn to Edinburgh by project-led employment.

Ocean Terminal, Leith

The development is described as offering serviced accommodation which is affordable and hassle-free, in a convenient, accessible location.

Developers Crosslane say: “Residential serviced living is a new type of fully furnished accommodation, with shared social spaces focused on creating a vibrant sense of community and all-inclusive rents, covering utilities and other living costs.

“The proposed high-quality, new development will be entirely different to other residential accommodation.

"The entire building is designed to be a living environment. The principle is that residents sleep in their room but 'live' in the building by taking advantage of the wide range of shared communal space and facilities available, generating a real sense of community within the development.

“A development such as this responds to market demand for quality rental homes. This is fuelled by a lack of new housing supply coming to the market, an increasing proportion of young professionals looking for more flexibility in how they live and work, and challenges in affordability with many young people being priced out of an expensive and highly competitive apartment-based rental marketplace.”

Research from letting portal Citylets recently found the average monthly rent in Edinburgh’s private rental sector had risen by 9.8 per cent to £1,191 in the last three months of 2021.

A Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) for the Ocean Point 2 development has been submitted to the city council and two consultation events are being held, the first one on Thursday.

The development team will be available at www.oceanpoint2.com on Thursday between 3pm and 7pm to answer any questions through a dedicated chat system as part of the digital consultation.

A second consultation event is planned for next month.

Mark Hughes, managing director at Crosslane Residential Developments, said: "Crosslane and its advisory team are looking forward to be giving the local public the chance to view and comment on exciting proposals for our Ocean Point 2 development in Leith.

"This is an incredibly appealing prospect for both Leith and Edinburgh as a whole. Residential serviced living represents an innovative affordable housing solution at a time when rental accommodation prices in the capital are soaring, and there are serious demands on housing supply.

"Our proposals will significantly assist in the regeneration and expansion of this part of the city. We are consulting extensively to ensure that people from across the local area have an opportunity to input their views and shape our ambitious proposals.

"We encourage all interested parties to speak to the team on February 10 and to put any questions you have to them."

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