Lovell starts Edinburgh project

Construction specialist Lovell has begun work on a multimillion pound social housing project in south Edinburgh.

The firm, which is part of Morgan Sindall Group, said the £3.4 million development of 30 flats for social rent was located on Lasswade Road, five miles south of the city centre. It is carrying out the construction on behalf of Link Group, with the scheme expected to reach completion in late October.

News of the work came as Lovell said it operations in Scotland were currently undergoing “a period of considerable growth”.

The company is on track to build more than 450 homes this year, a surge of 60 per cent on the number of units completed in 2016. Activity is anticipated to increase by a further 7 per cent in 2018.

Stephen Profili, regional managing director for Lovell in Scotland, said: “This is an exciting time for Lovell and we are delighted to be working with Link Group to provide much needed high-quality homes for social rent in the south side of Edinburgh.”

The finished development will consist of nine one-bedroom flats and 21 two-bedroom flats, four of which will be wheelchair accessible. The outer rooftops will be fitted with state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels, helping to reduce energy bills for occupants as well as lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Colin Culross, director of development and asset management at Link, said: “I’m delighted that Link continues to make its contribution to the City of Edinburgh Council’s pledge to build more affordable homes and, in this case, 30 new social tenancies will be created as well as delivering a range of community benefits by development contractor Lovell.”