A plan has been lodged for a "zero carbon quarter" in Edinburgh.
Parabola, the developer and investor which owns the 43 acres of undeveloped land to south of the existing Edinburgh Park, said it has submitted a planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council for the residential-led phase of the development of the new zero carbon quarter of the city.
Last year Parabola received planning permission for the first speculative office buildings at Edinburgh Park with work starting on site earlier this year.
The latest proposal complements the existing uses with new homes, commercial facilities, a public square set within parkland and with a focus on sustainability and well-being.
The latest detailed planning application is focused on over 1700 quality residential units with a predominance of apartments with a combination of private residential, build-to-rent and affordable homes ranging in size.
The residential element will be complemented with over 350,000 sq ft of commercial space including a significant commercial hub and public square at Edinburgh Park railway station, a 170 bedroom apartment hotel, extensive high quality public realm including a large public park, play areas and carefully crafted gardens and exemplar outdoor space for new residents to enjoy.
Given the scale of proposed development of the remaining 33.4 acre site, which will be the largest mixed-use development in the city, Parabola has confirmed that delivery is to be phased. It said an immediate priority is to realise the affordable element on site.
Parabola’s planning application will secure 25% affordable housing onsite, in a way that is "viable, well-integrated and tenure-blind, and incorporates a range of approved tenures".
The affordable housing "all matches the high quality design and the proportions" of the one two and three bedroomed market units onsite.
It is claimed Parabola’s proposed 434 affordable homes will be the largest number of affordable homes to have emerged from a single full application in the city, meeting in one go a significant portion of Edinburgh’s affordable housing need.
Construction work on the Parabola plan for Edinburgh Park began last year but has temporarily halted due to the current coronavirus restriction on building.
When the restrictions ease work will recommence on 1 New Park Square - the first speculative office development in Scotland which will be capable of operating carbon and emissions free, extending to 85,000 sq ft and completing in late 2021.
The first phase includes one million square feet of high quality offices, a new public square, sports and leisure facilities including football pitches and tennis courts, shops, bars, restaurants, a health centre, and extensive landscaping.
There is also to be a performance arts space in the very first phase building constructed as part of the masterplan.
This building will be designed to meet future workspace needs with flexible space for individual business users and businesses which will adapt to their needs.
It is claimed Parabola’s plans are the largest single site development proposals to be advanced in Edinburgh in the past decade.
Parabola recently received planning permission for its marketing suite, Mach1 designed by acclaimed artist David Mach which will be an arts space, café, event and marketing space – next to the parkland landscape its extensive collection of sculpture will be displayed at Edinburgh Park including returning Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s Vulcan to Edinburgh.
Peter Millican, owner and founder of Parabola, said: “Submitting the planning application for next phase of Edinburgh Park is a significant milestone for the Parabola team.
"We remain confident that our vision for a carbon neutral quarter of the city with well-being, the highest quality design in an unrivalled setting will create a world class place to work and to live at Edinburgh Park. The support and guidance of the leadership of the city council throughout the planning process has been greatly encouraging, we look forward to working with them to deliver this next phase of our vision.”
Commercial agents JLL and C&W will be advising on the marketing and availability of the accommodation.
Craft brewery BrewDog has had a libel claim brought against a PR company over an offer of free beer to supporters of Donald Trump thrown out by the High Court.
The independent Scottish brewer sued Frank Public Relations for defamation over a September 2018 press release announcing a deal with US brewery Scofflaw to launch its products in the UK.
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BrewDog arranged a number of promotional events in September and October 2018 as part of the launch, which was announced by a press release issued by Frank PR - without BrewDog or Scofflaw's approval.
The press release said "redneck US brewers Scofflaw" had partnered with "badass beer brand BrewDog to launch in the UK", adding: "The self-confessed 'trailer trash' brewers are renowned in the states for their lawless attitude and have landed in London today - their aim? To get the UK 'beered up redneck-style', completely free of charge.
"But there is a hook... you have to be a Trump supporter."
BrewDog, which describes itself as a "punk" brewer and says it is known as being critical of the US president, claimed the press release "prompted criticism of BrewDog for associating with Donald Trump".
It argued people could take the meaning of the press release to be that BrewDog is "a supporter of the policies of Donald Trump and/or right-wing politics and/or politics of intolerance and prejudice", and that the brewer is therefore "a hypocrite".
Lawyers for Frank PR said the "overall tone of the press release was light-hearted and played on Scofflaw's redneck image", and that "recipients of the press release would recognise the offer of free beer for Trump supporters for what it was: a publicity gimmick".
In a judgment delivered remotely on Wednesday, Mr Justice Nicol struck out BrewDog's claim and said the press release "said nothing about the political philosophy of the claimants".
The judge stated: "The press release said little about the claimants other than that they had embarked on a partnership with Scofflaw and Scofflaw was promoting its beer by offering free beer to supporters of Donald Trump.
"I have found that the natural and ordinary meaning said nothing about the political philosophy of the claimants.
"For this reason, it is not necessary to consider whether, if the words complained of had associated the claimants with Donald Trump, that would have been defamatory at common law. The issue simply does not arise.
"Simply to say of someone that they were a supporter of Donald Trump (or his policies) would not arguably lower that person in the eyes of right-thinking people generally."
The first rocket test of its kind in the UK for half a century has taken place in the Highlands.
Skyrora has completed a full ground static fire trial with the Skylark-L at Kildemorie Estate near Alness, marking a possible return to the space race for the nation.
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It was the first vertical test of this magnitude in the UK since the Black Arrow Programme 50 years ago.
The Skylark-L rocket could be ready to launch from a British spaceport as early as spring 2021, with the inaugural launch of the low Earth orbital (LEO) Skyrora XL rocket by 2023.
Volodymyr Levykin, chief executive of the firm, said: "As the launch aspect of the UK's new space industry starts to emerge, there will be many events that have never happened here previously and this is one of them.
"This was a mammoth effort in very trying circumstances, so it is quite an achievement to be proud of.
"The operation was carried out while having to adhere to very strict social distancing measures, and in an extremely remote location, providing additional challenges, all of which were handled expertly by all the team.
"We see this as being the first significant step towards reaching space from our own soil and are very proud to have taken that step as part of the UK's space ambitions.
"We are now in a full state of readiness for launch. It is this milestone that is the start of the UK's new space revolution.
"With the expertise in place and all the necessary hardware at the ready, we are poised to take the next steps in making the UK a serious leader in the space business once again."
Skylark-L is a bi-liquid propellant vehicle which performed all actions of a launch while restrained to the ground and prevented from taking off.
It is the firm's first sub-orbital flight vehicle and is capable of reaching a height of around 62 miles (100km), carrying a load of up to 60kg.
The team built the mobile launch complex within five days.
It was made up of several modules including a command centre, oxidiser and fuel handing containers and a compressed gas container.
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