Landmark brewery maltings demolition to make way for homes

Artisan Real Estate said in a statement with Sheppard Robson that the maltings block of the former Caledonian Brewery, which was rebuilt in the 1990s following a fire, is to be removed with homes in the footprint of the original building created in its place.

The single leaf outer walls of the industrial building would require “significant alteration”, there would be challenges around use of space and “restricted natural daylight”, as well as access to the Scottish capital building.

The plans noted that the retention of the maltings would reduce the “development opportunity and future viability”, that earlier buildings on the site are being retained and that “the maltings block, built new after the first fire, is of neutral significance”.

Artisan said in its statement: “Alongside the listed buildings the proposed site layout incorporates a reinstated maltings building in the same footprint and approximate 3d massing form as the original pre-1994 maltings building.

“This also re-established a relationship and presence on Slateford Road. The location and scale of this new Slateford Road building being approximately the same as the pre-1994 building. The new footprint for a proposed maltings building also allows the opportunity for additional residential blocks on the remainder of the site.”

Artisan, whose plans include 126 private rented and 42 affordable homes, also said: “Our vision for the site embraces its history, retaining, preserving and converting the earliest brewery buildings which contribute most strongly to the special interest of the site into a significant and new liveable urban location.

“Our proposal aims to cultivate a diverse and engaging environment, enriching the area’s character.

“The proposal envisions the establishment of a pedestrian and cycle-friendly community, fostering routes and views to such a crucial historical heart of the area. The design will deliver high-quality housing, facilitating the formation of a new green space and re-establishing the former Caledonian Brewery as a local landmark, defining its significance as a crucial connection point within the city.”

The development would provide much-needed homes for the Scottish capital (Image: Artisan/Sheppard Robson)

The proposal continued: “The footprint plan of the existing Maltings Building restricts the opportunity for residential units achievable on the remainder of the site.

"Its removal is essential to delivering the required number of proposed residential accommodation units to make the overall development financially viable.

“This will enable the retention and re-use of the nineteenth and early twentieth century structures which contribute most strongly to the cultural-heritage significance of the complex.”

Founded in 1869 by George Lorimer and Robert Clark, the Edinburgh brewery site and its range of distinctive B-listed buildings "provide a significant reminder of the city’s once extensive brewing heritage", Artisan said.

It was closed in 2022 by Heineken who said that “to modernise the brewery, and to meet our own sustainability commitments, would require considerable ongoing investment, which would make operating the brewery economically unviable”.

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One of the Highlands’ oldest coaching inns, it is claimed Dorothy Wordsworth and John Keats visited and the hotel was a stop-off point for Queen Victoria.

Cornerstone Business Agents said the Cairndow Stagecoach Inn on the shore of Loch Fyne has operated as a hotel since 1780, and has 19 en-suite letting rooms, bar and restaurant areas and a function room for up to 100.