Plans have been lodged to demolish school buildings to be replaced with a new Passivhaus-certified facility.
The classroom buildings will be replaced by an airtight building with a carefully controlled environment, along with outdoor teaching and growing areas.
It comes as the City of Edinburgh Council is moving forward with a regeneration programme for Wester Hailes. The area has links to both films based on Irvine Welsh’s bestselling book, with scenes in Trainspotting 2 shot there.
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A new masterplan is being developed which will establish a comprehensive phased approach to regenerate the area.
The application states: “The Wester Hailes Education Centre is a key lynchpin of the masterplan due to its location, facilities and historical importance within the community.
“The project itself is the second phase of a programme of works to improve the WHEC. Phase one is currently under construction and consists of provision of an all-weather full-size sports pitch and improvements to the sports and community building known as block A."
It continued: “Phase two consists of the demolition of the existing educational buildings at WHEC and construction of a new Passivhaus-certified school building.
“The new building will become known as Wester Hailes High School.
“The project aims to consolidate the educational facilities into one building with shared community facilities retained in the existing community centre building."
The council states: “ The school will continue to use existing sports facilities within the community centre (block A) such as the gymnasium and swimming pool.
The project aims to consolidate public services for the campus as a whole, establish a long-term sustainable asset, provide enhanced accommodation for future learning, improved community focus with inclusion at its heart and provide a centre of expertise for digital learning.”
The building will be designed to accommodate a school roll of 800 pupils but would allow for a future expansion strategy for 1200 pupils.
READ MORE: Trainspotting estate set for ‘much-needed’ regeneration
The council added: “The building should be a symbol for sustainability, acting as an educational resource and promoting sustainable lifestyles through use of new sustainable technologies and improving links with local transport and cycling networks.
“Outdoor spaces should be considered as important as the indoor environment and is embedded in the curriculum.
"The design should encourage people to connect with nature and promote learning on topics such as biodiversity and food production.”
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