Craiglockhart News

Sale of Edinburgh Napier University Craighouse Campus

A Message from Professor Dame Joan K Stringer DBE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Edinburgh Napier University

We have today announced the sale of our Craighouse campus to the Craighouse Partnership consortium for a proposed residential development. The consortium is led by local Edinburgh company, Sundial Properties, who are recognised as a leading restorer of listed buildings for residential use, Mountgrange Investment Management LLP and LA & P.

The proposed redevelopment includes the restoration of the site's seven Category A listed buildings, totalling 140,000 sq ft for residential use, accompanied by a range of carefully placed new homes designed to complement the existing buildings and landscape.

The development plans will be based around a detailed conservation audit carried out by leading conservation architects, Simpson and Brown, which found that new buildings are possible on a number of discreet sites within the campus boundary without damaging the overall significance of the site.

The campus will continue to be a beautiful base for students until 2013. Whilst we will all be sad to leave such magnificent buildings behind, the funds will be re-invested in our estates to provide students with the very best, modern learning environments. Students will be based at our new state of the art Sighthill campus, the Merchiston campus which will be upgraded over the next two years or our Craiglockhart campus which was refurbished in 2004.

Access to the grounds for members of the public who use it as a recreational facility will be maintained. Weddings and externally hosted events in the main New Craig building, including the Turmeau Hall, will continue as normal until December 2012.

Over the coming months, the Craighouse Partnership will undertake a consultation with stakeholders regarding their proposals. We very much see ourselves as custodians of this historical site, and will be jointly submitting the planning application with the consortium.

A website has been established, and this will become home to further updates as the project progresses:
www.edinburghcraighouse.co.uk (live on afternoon of Friday 25 March 2011).

Kind regards