Western Villages is set to be Scotland’s largest net zero housing development, providing 444 new houses in Granton, Edinburgh as part of the £1.3bn Granton Waterfront Development Framework.

Developed for City of Edinburgh Council in partnership with CCG (Scotland) Ltd, Western Villages provides a housing mix of one, two and three bedrooms flats made available for affordable (193) and mid-market rent (195) as well as 56 homes for private sale.

Western Villages supports the council’s vision for a more sustainable way of living and assists in the delivery of its ambitious target to become ‘Net Zero’ by 2030.

The Granton masterplan will not only deliver homes that have enhanced energy performance but will also act as an exemplar of low carbon transport and active travel integration.

Carbon Futures was appointed as energy and sustainability consultant to develop a low-carbon energy strategy, future-proofed against upcoming government legislation.

Our focus was to develop an enhanced fabric strategy through the use of CCG’s iQ Timber System – an off-site manufactured closed panel timber system – together with triple glazed windows, to minimise space heating energy demand and create a thermally comfortable environment for occupants.

In addition, our team delivered a wide range of consultancy services from concept design stage through to completion including, Masterplan Feasibility Analysis, Energy Strategy Analysis, Client Workshops, Approved Certifier of Design, Building Regulation Compliance, Operational Energy Performance Analysis (TM54), LZCGT Feasibility Studies, Thermal Bridging Analysis, provision of Energy Performance Certificates.

Heating and hot water is provided via a zero direct emissions district heating solution featuring both air and water source heat pump systems. The system distributes hot water to each dwelling via an insulated underground pipe network that connects to individual Heat Interface Units (HIU) within each apartment.

Solar PV connected directly to each apartment was also proposed to further minimise energy demand.

On completion, the project achieved a carbon reduction of 85% allowing the project to achieve Aspect Gold Level 1 (Carbon Dioxide Emissions) and Aspect Silver Level 2 (Energy for Space Heating) compliance. 

Western Villages is an excellent example of delivering large-scale regeneration beyond the minimum levels of performance set by Building Standards.

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City of Edinburgh Council
CCG (Scotland) Ltd
Cooper Cromar
G3 Consulting Engineers