PRIVATE-rented housing developer Moda is looking to expand its Scottish portfolio after submitting plans for a 221-home development in Edinburgh.

The firm, which is working on a joint-venture basis with investment partner Apache Capital Partners, hopes to bring the project as part of the wider Springside masterplan in the capital’s Fountainbridge area. In total it plans to develop over 500 homes on the site.

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Moda managing director Tony Brooks said the project underlines the firm’s confidence “in not just Edinburgh but the country as a whole”.

“There is huge demand for quality rental housing in Edinburgh, driven by the city’s status as a major commercial centre and university town, and we aim to capitalise on that by delivering next generation urban living,” he said.

“By being both the developer and the landlord, we can ensure that our future customers have the best possible experience, designing a scheme from the ground up for rent and utilising the best of the modern technology and providing generous amenity space.”

Mr Brooks said the firm’s intention is to transform renting from a stop-gap to home ownership into an “aspirational lifestyle choice” in its own right and as such Moda will be offering “family-friendly tenancies in excess of three years” when the development completes.

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Harrowgate-based Moda made its first move into Scotland in 2016, when it unveiled plans for a development on the site of the former Strathclyde Police headquarters in Glasgow. That project received planning permission last month.