Vita Group has published plans to create Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and Social Housing in New Waverley North in Edinburgh. New Waverley is the £240 million city centre regeneration project in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town which has transformed an important part of the city’s east end into a vibrant and thriving area.

This latest proposal means that investment can still go ahead to help complete the development with a shift to provide much needed housing for the 75K+ students the city attracts. Vita Student is one of the UK’s leading providers of PBSA and has been targeting Edinburgh for new investment with sites now operating at Fountainbridge in the city centre and Iona Street off Leith Walk.

Full Public Consultation will be carried out as part of the proposals with two events being held in the iconic Scottish Story Telling Centre in the City’s High Street (full details below). A planning application will be submitted in due course.

Vita Student sees the creation of new PBSA as vital for the realisation of the city’s ambitions for a knowledge-based economy as set out in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. The City Region Deal is a £1billion investment programme that is expected to deliver over 20,000 jobs in the Edinburgh City Region and is funded jointly by the Scottish and UK (United Kingdom) Governments. A very significant proportion of the investment is targeted on delivering Edinburgh’s ambitions to be a ‘Data Capital’, with joint funding targeted at creating data-driven innovation (DDI) to harness the areas strengths in digital technology and data handling. The City Region Deal, which was agreed in 2018, is currently being rolled out.

Commenting on the proposals James Rooke Head of Planning at Vita Group said, “We know that so much of Edinburgh’s success is based on attracting and retaining students that help power the city’s success. The site at New Waverley North will support around three hundred students on site and between five to ten affordable homes. We do realise that Student Accommodation can be controversial in Edinburgh, but students are the building blocks of a knowledge economy and Edinburgh is well placed achieve its ambitions to become a ‘Data Capital’. However, the city needs more, better and a wider range of student accommodation for that to happen. New Waverley North is well placed to contribute to Edinburgh’s success.”

We look forward to the consultation with the local community and to discussing the proposals with local stakeholders.”

For additional detail, visit: www.vitagroup.com/consultations/newwaverley