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£26m Pennywell/Muirhouse civic centre put forward

October 21 2016

£26m Pennywell/Muirhouse civic centre put forward
Edinburgh City Council is considering plans to build a £26m civic centre and 160 affordable homes on the site of a dilapidated shopping centre in the Pennywell and Muirhouse area of Edinburgh after plans were drafter for the areas regeneration.

This will include delivery of 13 shops, office space, cafes and public services centred on a new civic square which will be delivered by Willmott Dixon and Barton Willmore in a phased programme of work through to 2020.

City housing convener Cammy Day told The Herald: “The Pennywell development is Scotland’s largest housing-led regeneration scheme which captures what we’re aiming for across the city - a range of affordable, energy efficient homes that are completed to the highest standard.”

Phase one will see public realm enhancements carried out together with partial demolition of the current library and shopping centre as well as a reconfiguration of the arts hub.

Over 700 new homes are now planned for the deprived community in addition to an NHS partnership centre.
Over 700 new homes are now planned for the deprived community in addition to an NHS partnership centre
Over 700 new homes are now planned for the deprived community in addition to an NHS partnership centre

3 Comments

Terra
#1 Posted by Terra on 21 Oct 2016 at 17:25 PM
A decent enough plan for an area that feels like the bleak, bombed out remains of a Stalinist Closed City. They just recently filmed parts of the sequel to Trainspotting here...
Basho
#2 Posted by Basho on 21 Oct 2016 at 21:26 PM
We've seen this before. Monotonous low rise blocks. Repetitive unvaried cladding. It didn't work. The only difference between this scheme and the old Pennywell is the brick exterior. Architects seem to think brick is some sort of magical panacea that miraculously transforms tired old building forms into something vibrant and new. Afraid not. It takes a bit more than that.
This area desperately needs good design as part of a wider regeneration strategy for the grim shopping precinct area. I'm not convinced at all by the above images.
Rationalist
#3 Posted by Rationalist on 26 Oct 2016 at 13:33 PM
#2 Agree that brick can't be treated as a panacea - it's not a coverall for weak architecture. However "monotonous low rise blocks. Repetitive unvaried cladding...". You could be describing one of the new towns...they worked no? UNESCO thought so.

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