Edinburgh could possibly be about to get a brand-new knowledge centre, with actual property funding agency Shelbourn Drummond, alongside StudioNWA Architects, now consulting on plans for a campus on the previous website of the Royal Financial institution of Scotland headquarters.
The unique buildings on the positioning had been constructed in 1993 and spanned 330,000 sq ft (30,660 sqm) throughout roughly 18.5 acres. They had been offered to Shelborn Asset Administration in 2021 and demolished in 2022 following NatWest employees’s relocation to Gogarburn, a big workplace constructing close by in Gogar, Edinburgh.
It was anticipated that an workplace could be constructed on the positioning, however given the decline in demand for workplace area in a post-Covid world, the developer of the positioning has determined to pivot. That’s why it’s now operating a public session on whether or not to assemble two knowledge centre buildings of various sizes, plus a brand new substation on the positioning. It’s not recognized what capability the info centre may have, nevertheless.
It’s fairly a pivot for the positioning, which had already secured planning permission final 12 months for the mixed-use Edinburgh Inexperienced scheme totalling round 800,000 sq ft (74,320 sqm) throughout six multi-storey blocks.
A brand new knowledge centre could be welcome in Edinburgh, nevertheless. The glut of renewables accessible in Scotland makes it a really perfect location for knowledge centres seeking to get entry to an abundance of energy, though it’s nonetheless uncommon to see new knowledge centres proposed for the world.
When Shelbourn Drummond will be capable to get its new knowledge centre constructed is anybody’s guess because the developer has but to supply anticipated timelines, though it’s hoping to obtain planning consent by early subsequent 12 months. It has additionally confirmed that no matter knowledge centre is constructed, it’ll adhere to the ‘Inexperienced Knowledge Centre’ standards as specified by the Nationwide Planning Framework 4.
