Craigmillar Town Centre

The population of Craigmillar fell with the decline of the economy during the 1960s and 1970s, social problems began to grow and the area became stigmatised. In response the Craigmillar Urban Design Framework was established. The 194 homes now completed have solidified the intention of this framework and the rejuvenated heart of this community. An important principle was that existing tenants would be given the right to return to the area.

The development and housing mix was designed to ensure that everyone with the right to return could be accommodated, from 1-bed 2-person flats through to 5-bedroom 7-person houses, a neighbourhood has been created to meet all the housing needs of this growing community. This project provides an integrated and coherent new residential development which extends the existing neighbourhood to the east at Wauchope Square.

Successful town centres need footfall; an important function of the new housing is to overlook safe pedestrian and cycle routes towards new shops and the new school. The layout has been designed to maximise active frontages; This helps to facilitate passive surveillance over public spaces and provide activity along street edges. Important greenspaces reinforce the connection between the primary schools, new homes, the proposed secondary school and Business Centre, whilst providing a high-quality street frontage as well as robust planting, seating, a number of informal play elements and community growing spaces to create a series of individual but connected spaces running throughout the area.

The scheme is unique in the way it seeks to embed itself within and enrich the local community; taking cognisance of what is yet to come as well as the existing community infrastructure and encouraging it’s position as a crossroads of ‘desire-lines’ within the community and providing much needed amenity spaces and clear pedestrian links.