Unanimous approval granted by members of planning committee who praised a “strong” application which “takes traditional Edinburgh into the 21 st century”

‘Elements Edinburgh’ site promises to open up development in the west of the city, delivering vital local services and much-needed new homes

A proposed development promising 3,000 new homes on the site of Edinburgh Airport’s disused runway has received outline planning permission from the City of Edinburgh Council.

Spearheaded by Crosswind Developments, the site is also set to feature 500,000 sq ft of commercial space as well as hotels. Importantly, around half of the land will be protected for high-quality open space.

The development, which will also support 4,500 jobs, will transform a 29-hectare disused brownfield site, providing high-quality, affordable and energy-efficient homes at a time of acute housing need for the city. The site also provides crucial infrastructure, including a new primary school.

Members of the council’s planning committee responded positively to Crosswind’s application for planning in principle. Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan said the proposals demonstrated “well thought out principles of placemaking” while Councillor Neil Gardiner said it “takes traditional Edinburgh… a high-density city with good open spaces… into the 21 st century”.

Councillor Tim Jones said: “We desperately need more homes and you’re providing them. A lot of thought and hard work has gone into this application.” Councillor Joanna Mowat added that the application “ticks all our boxes” and noted “it’s nice when the developers make it easy for us”.

The decision follows the recent approval of the adjacent ‘West Town’ development, which is expected to deliver 7,000 homes on a neighbouring site. The two developments combined will see 10,000 new homes built.

The approval of Elements under the newly adopted City Plan 2030 is seen by developers as a milestone moment with the sites keystone position effectively unlocking the west of the city, allowing a wave of new housing and infrastructure projects to come to fruition in Scotland’s capital city.

The new homes will be built to the highest environmental building standards, linked to the local heat network, and will aim for zero household CO2 emissions – helping Edinburgh meet its environmental targets. The Elements site will also be designed as a car-lite, 20-minute neighbourhood, promoting active travel with over 9km of walking and cycling routes.

John Watson, chief executive of Crosswind Developments, said: “After many years working with the local government and our neighbours, this approval marks a critical moment for West Edinburgh, and the city more widely, allowing us all to take the next step towards delivering new homes the city so desperately needs.

“The Elements site is central to the wider vision for West Edinburgh. Aside from delivering 3,000 new homes, the site will also provide key transport links, green space and a primary school which will help ensure these major housing developments also become a thriving community.

“Crosswind and other developers have been working for many years to get to this stage and it is essential that we continue to work in collaboration with each other – and a wide range of other private and public stakeholders – to deliver a decade and more of exciting development in the west of Edinburgh. Today’s decision marks the beginning of a new chapter which will see plans for the Elements site become a reality, transforming Edinburgh and creating new homes for its people.”

Watson added: “It’s at times like these when we can appreciate that we have supportive, world-class infrastructure investors backing us and to understand that their patience and dedication has been essential in allowing us to get to this stage. Without the right inward investors supporting Scotland, projects of this scale cannot move forward.”

Councillors will now meet to decide whether a housing development on the site of Edinburgh Airport’s disused runway will get the go-ahead.

A development of 3,000 homes in West Edinburgh has been recommended for approval by officials at Edinburgh City Council.

Crosswind Developments aims to deliver a new community on a 29-hectare brownfield site that was formerly an Edinburgh Airport runway.

In documents just released by the local authority, city planners have recommended that the development is given the green light. The final decision will now be taken a week before Christmas (18 December), by councillors on the capital’s Development Management Sub-
Committee.

The development includes a mixture of one, two, and three-bedroom flats and townhouses, designed to support inter-generational living and reduce housing pressures at a critical time for the capital. A housing emergency was declared in the city in November 2023.

The meeting of the council’s Development Management Sub-Committee comes only a few weeks after the local authority formally adopted Edinburgh’s City Plan 2030, which sets parameters for developments across the city in the coming years. Proposals for Elements
Edinburgh align with the City Plan’s prioritisation of housing development on brownfield sites.

According to Crosswind Developments’ plans, 46% of the site will be dedicated to green space, including a 4.5-hectare urban park, connecting to wider green and blue networks. Enhancing green space is also a focus of the new City Plan.

The development will create a car-lite, 20-minute neighbourhood with over 9km of dedicated walking and cycling routes, complementing the council’s ambition to promote active travel and reduce carbon emissions. Homes will meet Passivhaus or Gold Standard Building Standards, aiming to reduce household CO2 emissions to zero and provide homes with 100% renewable electricity, contributing to Edinburgh’s sustainability goals. The site is also set to feature 500,000 sq ft of commercial space.

The approval of the site is seen by Crosswind Developments as an opportunity to unlock the West of Edinburgh for future inward investment.

David Kelman, project director at Crosswind Developments, said: “We are pleased to be moving forward with this transformative project, which aligns closely with Edinburgh’s City Plan 2030.

“Our vision is to create a sustainable, inclusive community that enhances West Edinburgh and benefits future generations. We are hopeful that the subcommittee will support our proposals, and we look forward to working collaboratively with the council to advance our shared ambition for the city.”

The subcommittee will consider the proposals at its meeting on Wednesday 18 December, when there will be the opportunity to hear representations from interested groups.

 

Questions about the future of the Grangemouth refinery have bubbled away under the surface of election campaigning in Scotland these past few weeks.

It is a complex and emotive topic – and an asset of genuine national significance – that I don’t intend to explore further here. I mention it because it highlights one of our country’s biggest strengths, which paradoxically represents a huge, missed opportunity.

There are few better places than Scotland to galvanise a cohesive, ambitious response to difficult circumstances. I wish we applied the same resolve to building things as we do to fixing them or extending their life.

I was chief executive of Scottish Enterprise in November 2018 when Michelin announced it was closing its Dundee factory. The company had been a catalyst for investment and opportunity on Tayside, developing generations of talent and capability, so the implications of its departure were potentially catastrophic.

Within two days we had formed a multi-disciplinary action group including ministerial representation from Scottish and UK governments, the leader of the city’s council, company management, trade unions, and senior advisers from business and educational bodies.

We came together in a matter of hours to coordinate and activate a response, working closely together for months thereafter to produce positive outcomes.

The effect was incredible and was defined by the application of time, ideas and effort from multiple parties in a truly collaborative fashion. If we could harness that same energy and approach in developing projects proactively, Scotland would be truly world-class.

That is one of the principles I am determined to apply as chairman of Crosswind Developments, which plans to transform the site of a disused runway at Edinburgh airport into a new community we hope will deliver 3,000 homes, 50,000 sqm of commercial space and more than 4,000 jobs.

It is a role I am privileged to hold but wish I had never been required to fill, having succeeded our previous chair, Alistair Darling, after his untimely death last year.

Alistair was a passionate advocate for sustainable and affordable housing. He had a clear vision for the way in which he wanted our development, ‘Elements Edinburgh’, to be achieved, as well as the benefits it would deliver.

What we aim to deliver in transforming this brownfield site – much-needed homes interwoven with significant green space and amenities that help create a diverse but cohesive community – is the ultimate prize, but how we deliver it is equally important to our team.

Scotland’s capital is on a path to becoming the country’s biggest city, due to exceed Glasgow’s size by 2050. The biggest single contribution to that growth will come from west Edinburgh, where some 22,000 homes are planned.

Local and national planning policy is now aligned in a way that makes development at that scale achievable in the next decade. But let’s be clear – it will only be delivered if all parties with a stake in this future work collaboratively to create a whole new district of Edinburgh that is greater than the sum of its parts.

If we want to compete with the best cities around the world we must stop competing with each other. If we want to persuade global investors to apply their capital here, we must convince them this is a country where stuff gets done, at pace, because the public and private sectors work in partnership. Put simply, we must apply the same energy to creating things in Scotland as we do to lamenting their loss.

By Steve Dunlop – Chairman of Crosswind Developments

It opened in 1916 as a basic grass strip and later became a key military base during both world wars, accommodating Supermarine Spitfires.

And as air traffic boomed it was where everyone from The Beatles to Marlene Dietrich landed when they arrived in Edinburgh.

Now the historic 12/30 runway at Edinburgh Airport – which has been disused since 2018 – is to enter its next chapter as a key solution to the housing emergency in Scotland’s capital.

Measuring 1190m, the strip of tarmac is part of a site known as Elements Edinburgh and is set to be transformed into a vibrant new community with 3000 homes, a school, shops and offices.

Initially just a basic landing strip known as Turnhouse Aerodrome, the runway evolved into the main gateway for passengers until the current 2556m runway – known as 06/24 – was constructed in 1977 with a new terminal alongside.

In recent years the old runway has been used for airport VIP car parking, but now a fresh transformation is set to take place.

Crosswind Developments is the team behind the proposed development that will transform the runway site into a new community encompassing 3,000 homes and 50,000 sqm commercial space, which it is estimated will generate more than 4,000 jobs.

The Elements Edinburgh site will be a “A sustainable community that individuals and businesses are proud to call home, which prioritises people, inspires innovation, and nurtures nature to build a better future for all​.”

With a housing crisis now declared Scotland-wide, Crosswind has heralded its development as a new model for housebuilding and placemaking which can help to address the shortage of homes in Scotland’s capital city. 

John Watson, chief executive of Crosswind Developments, said: “Elements Edinburgh is a world-class regeneration development, transforming a disused brownfield site into a thriving community. It is a place where people can live, work, and relax in a modern, sustainable and inclusive environment.”

The 72-acre brownfield site is adjacent to the International Business Gateway site and the proposed West Town Edinburgh development, for which a planning application was submitted earlier this month. It will comprise a mixture of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes designed to support an inclusive, inter-generational community.  

The ‘car-lite’ neighbourhood will be served by a two-stream primary school and created alongside a new green urban park with ready access to nearly 10km of designated walking and cycling routes.  

Watson highlighted the development’s green credentials. “We have been climate conscious from the outset with 46% of the allocated land dedicated to green space, the development also promising 9.4km of designated walking and cycling routes.” 

Crosswind submitted its planning application to the council in February 2024, setting out the detail of its £1bn investment in the site. The council’s planning committee is due to deliver its verdict on the plans later this year.

Following extensive consultation, the examination of CEC’s new Local Development Plan (City Plan 2030) by the Scottish Government’s Reporter has finally been concluded and the good news is that the suggested revisions and adjustments are not as wide-ranging as some
had feared, or expected.

For West Edinburgh in particular there are welcome clarifications on the locations for town and local centres to underpin the 20-minute Neighbourhood principle, an acknowledgment of the need for further guidance on infrastructure delivery through additional Supplementary Guidance and a recognition that the Strategic Business Centre boundary should be amended to include the Crosswind site.

There is further detail on how the potential diversion of the Gogar Burn will be managed through the West Edinburgh Placemaking Framework, supported by consultation with SEPA and confirmation that a road parallel to the railway line would be the preferred outcome.

Overall the Reporter identified a number of adjustments to provide closer alignment with NPF4, which came into effect after City Plan 2030 was drafted and, as might have been expected, there has been further work on the calculations for housing demand and supply. To support the 2034 target of 36,750 new homes (all-tenure) a number of site allocations have been defined as ‘opportunity sites’ recognising challenges to their deliverability in the short term.

Connectivity between sites is a heightened priority as is an emphasis on flood risk assessments for coastal sites in particular.

All things considered the recommendations are welcomed and should contribute to the robustness of City Plan 2030 as the key tool to shape the development of Edinburgh for the coming years.

Following the adjustments the revised City Plan 2030 will hopefully be approved by CEC in June paving the way for some planning decisions soon after.

Green spaces play a crucial role in promoting environmental sustainability, improving public health and well-being, enhancing social cohesion, and contributing to the overall quality of life in communities. This was especially evident during the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

That’s why at Elements Edinburgh we’ve prioritised open spaces to provide an established green network throughout the development offering residents access to play areas, a skate park and a community orchard at the same time as providing nature networks and ‘pollinator pathways’ by including planting along all of our streets. Our landscaped open spaces will account for 46% of the available land, including a new 11-acre Gogar Burn Park, a 3-acre neighbourhood park and over 6-acres of rain gardens, all built to be accessible and allow open access to all regardless of age, gender or ability.

 

Gogar Burn Park

The largest park on site sits alongside the Gogar burn and is home to a play area, multi-use games area, skate park and a community orchard. The park will be informal with a variety of planted spaces, some will be lawned, but most will richly be planted with Scottish native grasses, trees and wildflowers, species which are ‘on the edge’, species which encourage the formation of new and improved habitats while also increasing biodiversity.

We’ll prioritise protecting and improving the existing natural habitats provided by the Gogar Burn and the existing established woodlands.

Throughout the park there will be a network of accessible pedestrian and active travel routes to provide easy access to all areas of the development and beyond to Edinburgh Gateway, West Craigs South, the Airport and West Town Edinburgh.

 

Neighbourhood Park

This centrally located park will provide a green local centre to the development, offering a focal point for a range of gatherings and activities, with retail units at ground floor level and large open spaces offering the perfect location for local events such as farmers’ markets’ and open-air cinema to take place. In contrast to the Gogar Burn Park the neighbourhood park will have a more urban feel with carefully designed hard landscaping integrating the retail and food outlets and active travel routes.

Planting in this area will of course be native and will provide attractive seasonal colour to soften and animate the park making it welcoming for residents and visitors alike.

As with the Gogar Burn Park the neighbourhood park will also have a network of pedestrian pathways, as well as a segregated cycle route providing a direct route through the site away from cars.

 

Rain Gardens

As well as parks, the site will also benefit from raingardens which form the spine of the development. These accommodate a segregated active travel route alongside diversely planted green spaces and pedestrian routes.

Along this spine, there will be scope for pocket parks and seating, allowing this area to become an active open space providing more opportunities for people to come together as a community.

 

Within our plans every home will be a maximum of a 5-minute walk from Gogar Burn Park and all residential blocks will lie directly adjacent to quality green space, either Gogar Burn Park, the Neighbourhood Park, or the Raingarden Spine meaning everyone has easy access to nature and opportunities for social interaction on their doorstep.

 

For more information on the social benefits of urban parks check out our blog and report on the topic at https://www.elementsedinburgh.com/the-social-benefit-of-urban-parks/

Boroughmuir Thistle, Scotland’s largest female football club, has a new sponsor for its under-16 Elite Talent Development Environment (TDE) National performance league squad.

Crosswind Developments, a property developer behind the proposed ‘Elements Edinburgh’ development adjacent to the airport, will provide just under £1500 to finance a new away kit for Thistle.

Lesley Sawers, a non-executive director of Crosswind Developments, said:

“At Crosswind, we are committed to sustainable and inclusive placemaking. This is core to our work as our developer, but it also goes beyond that. We are truly invested in Edinburgh’s wider community, and in ensuring that its young people are provided with opportunities to thrive and grow.

“This partnership reflects our unwavering commitment to Edinburgh’s wider community and to the young women of Boroughmuir Thistle. Their success is a testament to their hard work on and off the pitch and we are delighted to support them.”

Chris Summersell, Performance Academy Manager for Boroughmuir Thistle, said:

At Boroughmuir Thistle, we are uniquely positioned to drive opportunity through women’s and girls sport.

We are delighted to have Crosswind, a business with a strong stake in Scotland’s future, supporting our work. This partnership opens up access to resources that will enable us to nurture future football talent, and we are extremely grateful to Crosswind for partnering with us.

Vivienne MacLaren, chair of Scottish Women’s football, said:

“Girls’ participation in sports is essential for their physical and mental wellbeing, and it instills valuable life skills such as teamwork, discipline, and leadership. Scottish women’s football has come a long way since the dark days of the 50-year ban on women’s participation. The ban not only denied women the right to play the sport they loved but also robbed our nation of an incredible pool of talent. Today, as we celebrate the strides we’ve made, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that every girl and woman in Scotland has the opportunity to be part of this beautiful game.

Boroughmuir Thistle is doing remarkable work fostering young talent in the local community. We welcome Crosswind Developments’ support of the club, which will help ensure the girls are well-equipped to compete to the best of their ability in the upcoming season.”

Crosswind’s ambition for Elements Edinburgh will see Edinburgh Airport’s disused runway transformed into a thriving commercial and residential hub. Crosswind is currently in the process of applying for planning permission, following a period of community consultation.

Proposals have been detailed for a new community in west Edinburgh that promises 3,000 homes, office space to support more than 4,000 jobs, shops, a school, active travel routes and a green urban park.

Crosswind Developments has submitted an application to the City of Edinburgh Council to regenerate a brownfield site in west Edinburgh, as part of a £1bn development for the city.

The application (reference 24/00523/PPP) comes just three months after the local authority became the first city council in Scotland to declare a “housing emergency”, resulting from a severe shortage of social rented homes and spiralling private rented costs. Crosswind’s plans include a mixture of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes – designed to support affordability and intergenerational living – as well as a new primary school.

The development, named ‘Elements Edinburgh’, would transform the 72-acre site situated between the established residential areas of Cammo, East Craigs, and South Gyle and the commercial centres of Edinburgh Park and NatWest’s Gogarburn campus.

The site is also adjacent to the proposed West Town development, for which an unrelated planning application was submitted last month. In total, the two proposals promise to deliver some 10,000 new homes in Scotland’s capital over the coming years, with over one-third of those properties allocated as affordable homes, more than 1,000 of them at Elements Edinburgh.

With sustainability a key goal for the city, the neighbourhood will be car-lite with a lower level of car parking to reflect the increased opportunities for those who live and work here to walk, cycle and make use of public transport connections. The site benefits from excellent
travel links, with Edinburgh Gateway station less than 300m away, giving easy access to the city’s tram service and rail network.

Crosswind’s plans include a green urban park with ready access to nearly 10km of designated walking and cycling routes that weave through and around 500,000 sq ft of commercial space. In addition to supporting the enhancement of biodiversity in open spaces, Elements Edinburgh buildings will be constructed to the highest energy-efficiency standards to lower heat demand, thus reducing heating costs. Energy will be from renewable sources.

After consultation with local stakeholders and the council’s planning officials last year, Crosswind has now formally applied for planning permission in principle for Elements Edinburgh.

John Watson, chief executive of Crosswind Developments, said: “We’ve been working closely with the council’s planning officials for some time now to unlock this strategically important site in the west of the city and have invested £8m in this project since 2017. Elements Edinburgh will offer homes and commercial space, designed to provide the perfect blend of life, work, learning, and nature for all.

“We believe our proposals are not only notable in Edinburgh and regional terms, but are of national significance in terms of placemaking, sustainability, and economic impact. We want to partner with the best innovators in Scotland and embrace the latest in energy provision;
focus on different forms of mobility rather than simply cars; and work in partnership with neighbouring landowners to achieve a joined-up approach to transport and other matters.

“We are keenly aware of the need for affordable housing across the city region and have taken great care to ensure the plans we submitted align with recent changes to the planning landscape, including the 2030 City Plan and NPF4.

“The new blueprint outlines our vision for the creation of a new community, featuring inclusive housing for a range of needs and incomes, a primary school, flexible places to work, facilities and services to meet daily needs, and generous green spaces that are well connected to the city and beyond by active travel and public transport.

“If realised, Elements Edinburgh promises to form a key part of west Edinburgh’s wider prosperity and economic growth and will provide hundreds of people with high-quality, sustainable homes. The feedback we received through the consultation process shows that local stakeholders are receptive to and supportive of our vision.”

Crosswind Developments, the team behind a proposed development that promises 3,000 new homes in the west of Edinburgh, has appointed Steve Dunlop as its new chair.

Dunlop’s appointment follows the recent passing of previous chair and former chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Alistair Darling.

Dunlop is an experienced regeneration and economic development professional who has served as a non-executive director of Crosswind since July 2021, following a spell as chief executive of Scottish Enterprise. He is also currently the chief executive of FOR:EV, an electric vehicle charging company.

Crosswind is spearheading a proposal that will transform the site of a disused runway at Edinburgh airport into a new community encompassing 3,000 homes and 50,000 sqm commercial space, which it is anticipated will provide more than 4,500 jobs.

The 72.4-acre brownfield site is adjacent to the International Business Gateway site and the proposed West Town Edinburgh development, for which a planning application was submitted earlier this month. It will comprise a mixture of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes designed to support an inclusive, inter-generational community. The ‘car-lite’ neighbourhood will be served by a two-stream primary school and created alongside a new green urban park with ready access to nearly 10km of designated walking and cycling routes.

Steve Dunlop said: “It is a privilege to take the role of Crosswind Developments chair, even though it comes in the saddest of circumstances. Alistair was a passionate advocate of sustainable and affordable housing and his guidance and wisdom were an invaluable resource. We will all miss him.

“My new role comes at a critical juncture for Edinburgh’s housing strategy. The 2030 city plan is currently under scrutiny and a housing emergency has recently been declared.

“It is crucial that Edinburgh’s housing stock meets the needs of the future. The principles behind Elements Edinburgh: sustainable placemaking, job creation, and economic prosperity, mean it is set to meet this challenge. Moreover, we believe that these principles chime with the council’s priorities for the city over the coming years.”

John Watson, chief executive of Crosswind Developments, said: “We are still coming to terms with Alistair’s loss and the void he has left, both personally and professionally. We are fortunate to have a very strong board, though, and Steve is extremely well qualified to step into the chairman’s role as we prepare to submit an application to the council for our Elements Edinburgh development.

“Steve’s experience and passion for economic development, urban regeneration and inward investment makes him an excellent ambassador for Crosswind’s ambitions for the city region.”

Crosswind’s other non-executive board members are Dr Lesley Sawers OBE and Andrew Sutherland. Sawers is interim deputy chair of the equality and human rights commission (EHRC) and has more than 30 years’ experience working at senior levels within the private, public and third sectors. She is also a director of GenAnalytics, a data analytics and research consultancy. Sutherland is a former managing director of Miller Group who has worked in commercial property and development for over three decades. He is a former chairman of the Scottish Property Federation and a member of the regeneration committee of the British Property Federation.

Crosswind Developments, the organisation spearheading an ambitious development in the west of Edinburgh, has closed its official pre-application public consultation which sought the views of local stakeholders and interested parties on its latest proposals for the site.

The proposed development – ‘Elements Edinburgh’ – will regenerate a 72.4 -acre brownfield site near Edinburgh Airport, with Crosswind preparing to make a formal planning application early next year.

As part of its planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council, Crosswind will submit a formal report of the feedback gathered during the recent consultation with local residents and state how this has shaped its plans.

Crosswind announced last month that following changes to the planning landscape –including the adoption of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and the emergence of the City of Edinburgh Council’s City Plan – it had been working closely with the council to help unlock this strategically important west Edinburgh site. This resulted in renewed plans for the development.

The new blueprint outlines Crosswind’s vision for the creation of a new community, featuring inclusive housing for a range of needs and incomes, a primary school, flexible places to work, facilities and services to meet daily needs, and generous green spaces that are well connected to the city and beyond by active travel and public transport.

 

John Watson, Chief Executive of Crosswind Developments, said:

“The feedback we received through the consultation process shows that local stakeholders are receptive to and supportive of our vision. We will continue to be guided by their feedback as we proceed to the next stage of the planning process.

“If realised, Elements Edinburgh promises to form a key part of west Edinburgh’s wider prosperity and economic growth and will provide hundreds of people with high-quality, sustainable homes.

“Following the council’s declaration of a housing emergency earlier this month, we are acutely aware of the need for affordable housing across the city region. We believe that sites like ours at Elements Edinburgh have a significant role to play in addressing this need.”