'Edinburgh Green' major office development gets go-ahead at Edinburgh Park

‘Edinburgh Green’ major office development gets go-ahead at Edinburgh Park

Work is expected to start later this year on an 18-acre sustainable office campus in the west of Edinburgh after it was given the go-ahead by councillors.

The Edinburgh Green project at Edinburgh Park will have high-spec office space for 6,387 employees as well as a new public park, a 516-space multi-storey car park with electric vehicle (EV) charging, a cafe and event space, sport and leisure facilities and a transport mobility hub.

The development was approved by the council’s development management sub-committee on Wednesday by eight votes to two.

Shelborn Asset Management purchased the site and existing buildings from the NatWest Group in 2021. One office building on the site, Drummond House, has already been demolished, but another, the Younger Building, has been retained and refurbished. And the plans also involve construction of six new office buildings.

Edinburgh Green, designed by Edinburgh-based practice 7N Architects with planning consultants Montagu Evans, will also have easy access to public transport with a railway station and tram stop nearby, as well as the mobility hub, connecting to active travel options across the city.

The multi-storey car park is also described as Scotland’s largest EV charging hub. And the developers project a public transport mode share of 67 per cent, and a car mode share of 11 per cent.

But parking provision exceeds the council’s guidelines, which allow one space per 385 square metres of office area, meaning there are 321 too many parking spaces. However, planning officials said the proposals would mean a significant reduction in the existing parking provision of 930 spaces and would also reduce overall traffic generation from the site.

Nevertheless, Green councillors proposed refusal of the application Leith Green councillor Chas Booth said: “This will contribute to the climate emergency. The number one source of greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland is transport and that is primarily private cars. And by providing additional parking spaces we are exacerbating the issue.”

Planning convener Hal Osler said she was disappointed there was more than sufficient car parking. But she said: “This is a very good application and we desperately need Grade-A offices.” She underlined the good public transport access. And she added: “Just because there happens to be car parking doesn’t mean it will all be used.”

Afterwards, Shelborn director Brian Rabinowitz said he was delighted at the go-ahead. “Our proposals will see a state-of-the-art office campus built at Edinburgh Park, addressing the current shortage that Edinburgh faces for Grade-A, future-proof office space.

“Edinburgh Green has been carefully designed to create a highly sustainable development designed around its occupants – to suit the changing needs of a modern workplace, and to meet the stringent ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) standards that large employers seek to adhere to.”