Posted on 15 May 2008

High quality homes which form part of well designed and sustainable communities have been applauded at the Scottish home building industry’s premier event, the Homes for Scotland Quality Awards.

The EDI Group Limited won two first place trophies in the masterplanning category for its work at PARC Craigmillar, at the awards ceremony attended by 750 guests and the Minister for Communities Stewart Maxwell (held on Friday 9th May 2008).

Embracing the Scottish Government’s place-making agenda, the focus for this year’s Awards was on “Designing Places”. Homes for Scotland’s members submitted a record number of entries in the categories of urban, rural and masterplanning.

The Awards were judged by an independent panel, chaired by Scotland’s Chief Planner Jim Mackinnon. For the first time since the Awards started, Homes for Scotland awarded two “first place” awards in the Masterplanning category, instead of the usual one.

Commenting on EDI’s double win in the Masterplanning category, John Mark Di Ciacca, Acting Chief Executive of EDI said how pleased they were to have won the prestigious award:

 “This is high praise indeed from our industry peers. The PARC project – a joint venture between ourselves and The City of Edinburgh Council – is spearheading the regeneration of Craigmillar, involving a total investment of around £200 million. We are now building new homes, under the ParcLife name, new schools and an entirely new town centre. This award is an important recognition of the work by teams at EDI and the Council, in making a long term vision a reality.”

The Masterplanning Awards won by EDI are:
The EDI Group for PARC Craigmillar, Greendykes North, Edinburgh
The judging panel commented: “The masterplan is genuinely impressive with some outstanding detail creating an identity that will be unique. High quality public realm and public spaces are proposed that look set to change the function and perception of the area. The approach to landscaping has been both bold and imaginative, changing how cars and pedestrians will integrate.”

The EDI Group for PARC Craigmillar, Wauchope Square, Edinburgh
The judging panel commented:“Outstanding work has been done to take account of the location and views to Arthur Seat. Streets are being created that deliberately slow vehicles by design, and allow pedestrians and vehicles access without conflict. This approach has drawn well on practise from elsewhere, but been applied sensibly in a local context.”

For further information about EDI please contact Giselle Dye or Esther Black at Pagoda PR on 0131 556 0770 or email: Giselle.dye@pagodapr.com or esther.black@pagodapr.com
For information about PARC please contact Richard Bright at Weber Shandwick Tel: 0131 556 6649 Mobile: 07770 886914 rbright@webershandwick.com
For information about Homes for Scotland please contact Jennifer Kennedy at Homes for Scotland on 0131 455 8350 or Email: j.kennedy@homesforscotland.com