Lovell is working on a £3.14 million affordable housing scheme contract for Dunedin Canmore Group, the latest phase of a major housing regeneration programme for the Oxgangs area of Edinburgh.

Through the scheme, Lovell is building 22 flats and 12 houses at Firhill Drive on land previously occupied by tower blocks which have been demolished. The development, set to be completed in autumn 2013, will create 13 homes for social rent and 21 properties for Mid Market Rent which allows tenants to pay rent below the normal market level.

The contract for the work was awarded after Lovell successfully built the first three phases of the Oxgangs programme for the housing association, creating 209 new homes and seven commercial units including shops, offices and a nursery. Lovell has also finished a large-scale internal and external modernisation programme for 377 homes at the Moredun Park and Hyvots estates, Edinburgh, for Dunedin Canmore Group.


Lovell regional director Alan Taylor said: "We're delighted to be continuing our excellent working relationship with Dunedin Canmore Group, helping deliver the latest stage of this important housing regeneration programme which will create new high-quality, energy-efficient affordable homes for rent."

The homes at Firhill Drive will incorporate energy-efficiency features including passive stack ventilation by which warm, moist air is drawn up from the kitchen and bathroom through ducting where it escapes into the atmosphere. Fresh air is drawn in from outside via trickle vents in windows and doors. The system allows homes to be ventilated without the use of electric fans.

The construction teams are operating out of energy-saving 'eco cabins' on site, which use less fuel than conventional site offices through features such as diesel heating and intelligent lighting.

(CD/GK)