Anderson Bell Christie are working with City of Edinburgh Council on a holistic community led improvement programme in the Moredunvale area.

Moredunvale is comprised of Moredun Park, 6 high rise blocks, maisonettes and two storey housing. The community have developed a strong voice, in response to under investment in their buildings, greenspace and reduction of services in the area. The community receives positive support from their local elected members.

All our work in Moredunvale is led by the community. A Steering Group manages the process. It is comprised of resident and community representatives, the City of Edinburgh Council and design team members. We listen, discuss and agree before putting pen to paper.

We are enhancing greenspace so that it is safe and meets the community’s needs, are using an innovative arts led engagement with community codesign to generate our outputs. We are also working with a Steering Group to develop a vehicle that can seek grant funding to support the proposals and create new employment opportunities in the area.

We are renewing the landings, stairs and entrances to the tower blocks. This work is co-created with the community and reflects the outcomes of the art engagement to create a cohesive resident journey through the Moredun area.

We are also investigating the energy performance of the flats. This work is led by occupant feedback and includes air tightness testing, thermographic surveys, destructive investigation to track air leakage and condition reports of the windows within the block. We are making recommendations for improvements that will be of direct benefit to the residents; any interventions will be highly targeted to improve comfort levels and reduce energy bills.

Our aim is to lever retrofit investment to create community led regeneration of the area. We believe an indicator of success will be the successful return of the Moredun gala day. This will be a clear sign of community renewal and transfer of a sense of shared ownership. We hope that this is evidenced by lower rates of anti-social behaviour, lower energy bills and improved health and wellbeing.