The City of Edinburgh Council has approved (‘minded to grant’) a planning application for the redevelopment of the former Scottish Widows Headquarters submitted by Schroders Capital’s real estate division and Corran Properties. The plans secure a major step forward for the long-term, sustainable future of the building on Dalkeith Road.

The Council’s Development Management Sub Committee recently voted to approve the application for the partial demolition and redevelopment of the former Scottish Widows Headquarters office building and the development of a new of a new residential quarter comprising 174 apartments and affordable housing.

Originally designed in the early 1970s and opened in July 1976, the building served as Scottish Widows headquarters before the company moved to its present building on Morrison Street in 1995. The building was most recently occupied by Lloyds Banking Group until March 2020 and, at its peak, housed 2,300 employees.  Often attributed to the acclaimed Scottish architect Sir Basil Spence, the building’s design and development was actually undertaken by Spence’s partner, John Hardie Glover and senior assistant, John Marnoch Legge. The building is Category A listed.

Central to the planning application was the sustainable repurposing of the existing Category A Listed building. From the outset, the development team were challenged with finding a solution for an office building that was no longer fit for purpose, and crucially had an EPC rating of G – the lowest of any building in the country. Once works are complete the office building will offer highly sustainable workspace targeting a range of ambitious sustainability credentials including Well Platinum, BREEAM Excellent and EPC A whilst adopting circular economy principles and minimising embodied carbon during construction.

By taking a heritage led approach, the project team developed the plans over a number of years that put restoration and sustainability at its core.  The Net Zero Carbon, mixed-use, 20-minute neighbourhood in Edinburgh’s Southside will create much-needed housing and affordable housing within Edinburgh along with flexible, modern, Grade A office space.

Peter Lowe, Fund Manager at Schroders Capital’s real estate team, commented:

“Securing this planning consent is a key step to securing a sustainable future for the site along with the delivery of new apartments for the benefit of the City of Edinburgh. We have sought to balance the historic nature of the building and its setting, with the design of a mixed-use scheme that will meet the requirements of future residents and modern corporate occupiers.“

Nick Ball, from Corran Properties, commented:

“I would like to thank the City of Edinburgh Council for entrusting us with the future of the building and allowing the development team to return the building and its surrounding site, sensitively and appropriately to an active use.

“Both the building and the wider site presented significant challenges, but crucially many opportunities. We considered every possible option for the site, assessed against the most stringent current and future sustainability standards. This has culminated in the consented mixed-use development, one that will retain and enhance this existing office building, and provide much needed housing for Edinburgh.”