Edinburgh Granton Waterfront Regeneration Secures £38.4 Million Loan from UK National Wealth Fund

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 11, the UK National Wealth Fund announced a £38.4 million loan to the City of Edinburgh Council to advance the first-phase pre-infrastructure works of the Granton Waterfront regeneration project. The loan funds will be used for site remediation, road and utility construction, and public space works, creating developable plots for subsequent residential and commercial development.

The overall Granton Waterfront transformation plan involves a total investment of approximately £1.3 billion. The project is located on former industrial brownfield land in northern Edinburgh and is planned to include approximately 3,500 net zero carbon-ready homes, along with supporting commercial, cultural, leisure, school, healthcare, and extensive coastal public spaces. The project also plans approximately 16 hectares of new green space and 20,000 square meters of commercial and cultural space.

This loan primarily supports the first phase. Phase one has entered the implementation stage and is planned to include 847 net zero carbon-ready homes, of which 214 will be social rented housing and 173 will be mid-market rented housing, along with 14 ground-floor commercial units, as well as land for a new primary school and supporting infrastructure. Phase one is being delivered by the City of Edinburgh Council in partnership with Cruden Group, and planning permission was granted in November 2024.

The phase one infrastructure works include land decontamination, new and upgraded utilities, demolition works, road and public space construction, and will simultaneously deliver active travel infrastructure for walking and cycling. The City of Edinburgh Council announced in June 2026 that fencing and preliminary preparations have begun on the phase one site, followed by foundation and infrastructure construction. The overall phase one is expected to continue construction until 2033.

The National Wealth Fund stated that this £38.4 million financing will help the Council complete the creation of development-ready plots and leverage approximately £160 million in subsequent private capital investment. Subsequent private housing development will be advanced by the Council's development partners. The loan uses a tailored low-cost financing arrangement to reduce the pressure of upfront infrastructure investment.

Granton Waterfront is one of seven key strategic sites identified in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal and has been designated a national development by Scotland's National Planning Framework 4. The project has completed early housing developments including Granton Station View and Western Villages, of which Western Villages has delivered 388 social and mid-market rented homes, and Granton Station View has a further 75 homes now occupied.