Homes planned for site of former Edinburgh school

A developer is seeking approval for new homes on the site of a former Edinburgh school on behalf of Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association.

The Edinburgh Evening News reports that city-based Hopefield Partnerships wants to transform the site of the former Hunter’s Tryst Primary School into 89 affordable, mid-market houses and flats, as well as homes for the elderly.

The building in Oxgangs Green was demolished following a fire almost a decade ago.

Designed by Fouin+Bell Architects, the development will include two-storey terraced and semi-detached houses, providing larger family properties with private gardens and parking, and a four-storey block of flats. Developers have also planned for a number of single-storey bungalows to prevent the views of residents in the surrounding houses from being blocked.

However, according to the newspaper, the proposals have already hit a snag after council officials warned the planning application was lacking crucial information for the size of the project.

Members of the public are now being invited to comment on the proposals – but planners said key information was needed quickly or it could face lengthy delays.

Oxgangs councillor Jason Rust said: “It is positive to see progress after such a long period of time, but given that a decade has now passed it is disappointing that key issues appear to have been omitted from the application or are not available for public inspection.

“I hope the complete application will be fully available soon.

“Together with local residents I will be closely scrutinising the application, including site density and transport details.

“Having waited this long, we want to see the best possible option for Oxgangs.”

The brownfield site has been left empty and unused since the summer of 2007 when pupils from Hunter’s Tryst moved to Comiston, now Pentland Primary.

Previous attempts to sell and develop the land failed due to the recession. The developers said they had already carried out an extensive consultation with the local community to win support for the plans.

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