The National Wealth Fund has agreed a loan of £38.4 million to The City of Edinburgh Council to support the first phase of the regeneration of Granton Waterfront.
The day after the council agreed to “strategically pause” extending the tramline to the car free developments in Granton, money has now been confirmed for the enabling works on the brownfield site. Asked whether the decision to delay any new tram extension to Granton figured in the decision the National Wealth Fund confirmed that they undertake “extensive due diligence” but said that details of any individual assessments are commercially sensitive.
The cash injection – will fund the works needed before any homes can be built – clearing contaminated land, laying roads and utilities, and shaping the public spaces that will knit the new coastal community together. This is the first time the National Wealth Fund have made any funds available to the city council.
Granton Waterfront is a huge £1.3 billion project. Once a hub of industry on the Firth of Forth, the site is being transformed into one of Scotland’s largest brownfield regeneration schemes, with the full vision stretching to around 3,500 energy-efficient homes – which the council say is a significant contribution to Edinburgh’s efforts to tackle its housing emergency.
The National Wealth Fund’s backing is designed to do more than pay for spades in the ground. By covering the cost of preparing serviced plots, it should pave the way for a further £160m of private investment, as the Council’s development partner moves ahead with homes for sale on the site.
This is confirmed as “cost-effective financing” which will improve the overall financial viability of the project, making it easier to attract further backers down the line.
Work on phase one is already under way. When complete, it will deliver 847 homes, including 214 for social rent, alongside a new primary school and 14 ground-floor retail units, giving the fledgling community its first shops and services on the doorstep.
That first phase is just the opening chapter of a much larger story. The wider Granton Waterfront programme will ultimately bring 3,500 new homes, leisure facilities, and what is billed as Scotland’s largest coastal park to the north of the city – reshaping a stretch of Edinburgh’s shoreline for future generations.
Oliver Holbourn, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said: “It’s great to be working with leaders at the City of Edinburgh Council to help deliver their ambitious local growth plans, including through regeneration projects like Granton Waterfront, delivering meaningful change to people, places and businesses in the region.”
City of Edinburgh Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “We are grateful to the National Wealth Fund for its support through a cost-effective loan, which is helping to enable the works for the first phase of this ambitious project.
“Phase 1 forms part of a wider £1.3 billion programme to regenerate Granton, transforming what was once a neglected part of the city into a thriving and desirable place to live, work and visit.
“As the largest public sector led project of its kind in Scotland, it will continue to set the standard for sustainable economic growth in Edinburgh for years to come, whilst responding to the ongoing housing emergency.”
