A 58-home development featuring solar-powered water heaters and streets without pavements in Craigmillar’s £200m regeneration scheme in Scotland has received the go-ahead from the city council.

A European-inspired “home zone” with no pavements, road signs or markings, is intended to strike a balance between traffic and everyone else who uses the street. Made famous in Holland in the 1970s, the presence of pedestrians is supposed to force traffic to drive more slowly and take greater care. The buildings are designed to be environmentally-friendly and energy efficient, with a high level of insulation.

The entire regeneration of Craigmillar will eventually include more than 3,000 new homes, with 150 acres of surrounding green space transformed into a “green quarter” with parks, river walkways, woodland and play areas.

The first stage of the project got under way in early 2007 and involved building a multi-million pound campus bringing together St Francis and Niddrie Mill primary schools. The overall scheme is designed to take 15 years to build, although the credit crunch has already caused some delays.