Latest news with #LarHousingTrust
Scotsman
11-08-2025
- General
- Scotsman
How Scotland's historic World War bases can help tackle housing crisis
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Some housing development proposals are unveiled, and you see, well, houses. But the launch of the Lar Housing Trust project at Port Edgar in South Queensferry this week turned into so much more. This was about history, community and the resilience of individuals. At its core, the 49-home project is simply the latest in a series of developments by the trust, set up ten years ago to provide high-quality, mid-market accommodation in an increasingly challenging market. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But at Port Edgar, what they are doing is bringing back to life a disused and neglected site which was once a key component in our wartime protection and providing homes for a new generation. Second World War veteran Dorothea Barron, 100, places a brick at a new housing development at the site of the former Port Edgar barracks in South Queenferry (Picture: Jane Barlow) | PA A Wren returns Three years ago, I visited the site to hear about the proposals and the funding challenges that came with it. This week I was privileged to be among those invited along to lay one of the reclaimed and reconditioned bricks from buildings which had once housed Royal Navy personnel. Among them was Dorothea Barron, now 100 years old. One of the last surviving Wrens and one of those who sent and deciphered the morse code messages which were central to wartime communications. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Watching her lay the first brick in a wall which will become part of a thriving community – including a community café and a Men's Shed group – I was struck by the importance of the moment. We were also joined by a brother and sister whose parents had met when they were stationed there. As we all chatted over tea and coffee in the buildings being brought back to life, tales of our wartime heroes merged with information about how renewable technology will create homes for the future, which will have an awe-inspiring view of three examples of the best of British bridge engineering over the past century and a half. The Port Edgar base dates back to 1918 when it was a barracks for a Royal Navy base that serviced torpedo boat destroyers. In the Second World War, it was a hospital and supported staff at the minesweeper base. All this history is being recognised in the redevelopment which, although primarily permanent housing, will also provide respite accommodation in the barracks' former jail. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Passion and enthusiasm Similar history is evident in other parts of the country at deserted Army and Royal Airforce bases, many of them now little more than overgrown collections of brick huts and broken runways. As I was shown round the historic buildings at Port Edgar where a revolutionary water-pump system will provide the heating, I couldn't help but think how so many of them could be reborn this way. That the vision that led Lar to see the potential in Port Edgar could be invaluable in utilising and repurposing everything from the sites and structures, down to the bricks themselves, to overcome the housing crisis which this generation faces. Ann Leslie, the woman who originally came up with the idea and founded Lar ten years ago spoke with passion and enthusiasm. Our government could do worse than to enlist her help in overcoming the crippling housing shortage we face. For me, Port Edgar could be the blueprint for a future that manages to protect the past.
Edinburgh Reporter
29-07-2025
- Automotive
- Edinburgh Reporter
Plans to transform Edinburgh factory into 28 townhouses set to be approved
Plans to transform a historic Edinburgh factory into 28 townhouses are set to be approved by Edinburgh councillors. The production block on the Madelvic House estate in Granton has stood for almost 130 years, and is believed to be the first purpose-built automobile factory in the UK. Now, a social housing trust is looking to convert it into two banks of 14 townhouses, divided by a courtyard that was part of the factory. Lar Housing Trust announced plans in 2024 to launch the conversion, which they say will aim to 'minimise any alteration to the original form and fabric of the building'. One of the townhouses will be a two-bed unit, while the remaining units will have three beds each. According to a design statement published by Lar, the redevelopment will see a 'compromise' of the original building to accommodate a planned flat block adjacent to it. Two stairwells will be built into the factory, which will serve the new flat block when it is built. Each of the townhomes will run over two stories, with the developers saying that the majority of the units would be able to be adapted for wheelchair use if needed. Details of the development were provisionally approved by councillors in May of this year, pending agreement by the firm on how much it would contribute to local infrastructure. However, the application is now returning to councillors, as it emerged that an error in the trust's planning application would have seen it overcharged for these contributions. In May, councillors signed off on a contribution of £1,716.50 per townhouse towards bike lanes and similar infrastructure, and £192.50 per unit towards a 'mobility hub'. But now councillors are being asked to approve £1,524 per unit for bike lanes and similar infrastructure, and £192.50 per unit for a mobility hub. This would be a total contribution per unit of £1,716.50 per townhouse on the development site. Officers have recommended that councillors approve the planning application with the revised contribution totals at a meeting next Wednesday. On the Madelvic site, the developers say they want to retain the 'unique building with its own specific heritage' for future generations. And they say that the structure is appreciated in the neighbourhood, as well as the heritage that comes with it. The factory began construction in 1898 as a purpose-built automobile factory, intended for the production of electric cars. At the site, 'electric powered horseless carriages' and two-seater electric buggies were built – but the Madelvic Carriage Company folded in 1900. However, a series of companies continued automobile manufacturing on the site until 1911, after which it went dormant. During the First World War, the site was used for torpedo storage – however it fell out of use again after hostilities ceased. But from 1925 until 2001, it played host to the United Wire Works, becoming its Granton Factory, being used to produce wire cloth. The company still runs a factory on the former Madelvic estate, however it is located elsewhere on the property, and runs at a smaller scale. It won class B listing in 1998, with the office and the power generating station also built as part of the factory site also being listed at the same time. The site is located off Waterfront Avenue in Granton, nearby West Granton Avenue, with nine bus routes stopping near the proposed development. Additionally, the site sits next to a safeguarded tram route along Waterfront Avenue, which could be constructed as part of the next stage of Edinburgh's tram system. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
