UP TO 200 affordable homes are to be built beside Murrayfield Stadium after the economic downturn led developers to shelve their plans for private flats.
Duddingston House Properties originally planned to build 170 apartments on the derelict former First Group bus depot on Westfield Avenue, with just a quarter being reserved for affordable housing, but the company has now scrapped those plans in favo
ur of building 200 homes for a housing association.
The Dunedin Canmore Housing Association intends to make them available on shared equity schemes or to rent.
The move follows the city council's announcement last week that it is to build its first council houses in nearly 20 years.
Bruce Hare, chief executive at Duddingston House Properties, said affordable housing was the only way to develop the site now.
He said: "At the moment, no housebuilders can get hold of the cash. They are not interested in looking at any development because of the mortgage market and the bank lending isn't available for them.
"With housing associations, their bank debt is arranged over a much larger time period and they do have funding available now.
"The big difference is that this will deliver housing where it is needed."
A new planning application is set to be submitted for the site, including up to 18 workshops and studio units for start-up businesses.
There would also be a footpath and cycle path between Gorgie, next to Sainsbury's, and the new Murrayfield tram stop.
Between a third and a half of the homes are expected to be available on shared equity schemes, meaning buyers would need a mortgage for only around 60 per cent of the property value, expected to be up to £150,000.
Ewan Fraser, chief executive at Dunedin Canmore, said: "There is going to be pressure on sales and mortgages for the next year or two and if we see any opportunities to provide affordable housing then it will be a great benefit for the city."
Councillor Paul Edie, the city council's housing convener, said: "The current credit crunch has deepened Edinburgh's housing crisis. We are very glad to receive innovative proposals for new affordable housing. As with our own recently announced plans to build the first council homes for a generation, this plan supports research showing that such communities are by far the most successful."
The full article contains 399 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
