You already know the Georgian terraces of Edinburgh’s New Town, you’re familiar with the Gothic spires of its Old Town, now get ready for an entirely new area for Auld Reekie: the West Town.
West Town won’t actually be in Edinburgh itself but will be a 7,000-home town on its outskirts. Plans for the settlement have officially been submitted and developers hope work could start before the end of this year. If everything goes to plan, part of West Town will be ready for occupation from early 2026.
The town would be on a 205-acre plot just west of the Scottish capital and is forecast to cost a whopping £2 billion. Proposals include schools, medical provision, community spaces, bars, restaurants, cafes, retail space and a park. The idea is that it will be a ‘20-minute neighbourhood’, which basically means that residents will be able to reach all of the main amenities by foot and have less use for cars.
Conveniently, the Edinburgh tram route already runs through the site, so planners want to create a new tram stop to serve future West Town locals.
The plans were put forward by West Town Edinburgh Limited, created by Drum Property Group, which owns the land. Graeme Bone, director of Drum Property, said: ‘We now have the opportunity to make West Town an exemplar, sustainable 20-minute neighbourhood on a par with the best new developments taking place across the UK and Europe.’
You can find more about the huge plans over on the West Town Edinburgh Limited website here. The planning application comes just over a year after Scotland declared its desire to put ‘20-minute cities’ at the heart of city planning. And if you’re still a bit confused on what exactly constitutes a 15- or 20-minute town or city, we’ve got a helpful explainer here.
Did you see that the UK’s vaping capital has been revealed? (It’s not London).
Plus: A new project wants to unearth Scotland’s ‘lost’ ancient forests.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.