Following the granting of planning consent, Drum Property Group’s vision for the long-awaited redevelopment of a key development site on Leith Walk, Edinburgh is to become a reality.

The scheme will see 148 new apartments and the refurbishment of a retail building built on a 2.9-acre site in Edinburgh City Centre. He site is located at Stead’s Place, near the foot of Leith Walk.

Graeme Bone, Group Managing Director of Drum, said: “Drum has worked hard to ensure our current proposals are aligned with the objectives and plans of local community groups.  We listened carefully to their views, enabling us to draw on the positive characteristics of the surrounding area to create a real sense of place that features a mix of private and affordable housing with a refurbished, vibrant and dynamic retail frontage facing Leith Walk. 

"Our proposals will replace old and tired industrial, office and retail space with new, more flexible, higher quality accommodation for people to live, work, shop, eat, drink and to be entertained in - as well as opening up a safe and landscaped thoroughfare connecting Leith Walk to Pilrig Park. We believe we have responded directly to the objectives and vision the community has for the site. Our proposals now offer the optimum solution for all parties, providing a refurbished retail and office parade combined with a new community of housing to the rear, set in landscaped grounds, enhancing the area’s distinctive cultural feel and identity.” 

The Stead’s Place site has been earmarked for development since 2008 and consists largely of an aged industrial estate and office space, together with a two-storey sandstone building facing directly on to Leith Walk. Drum will now replace the existing industrial units with 148 high-quality apartments, including 38 affordable homes, as part of an attractive landscaped residential scheme linking to Pilrig Park and beyond. The sandstone building will be retained and refurbished and made available for commercial occupation. 

Drum is committed to ensuring the shop frontages on to Leith Walk retain the current individual style and size, reflecting and supporting the current local small trader units at the site whilst refurbishing the office suites for rent on the first floor in a revamped business centre offering.