Fairmilehead Water Treatment Works faces residential redevelopment plan

A sizeable water treatment works site in Fairmilehead could be cleared and redeveloped for housing under a planning proposal now before City of Edinburgh Council.

The site is Fairmilehead Water Treatment Works at 55 Buckstone Terrace, Buckstone, Edinburgh EH10 6XH. It sits in the Colinton/Fairmilehead area and is associated with Scottish Water.

The latest planning entry is an EIA screening request. That means the council is being asked to decide whether the emerging redevelopment is likely to have significant environmental effects that would require a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

The screening request is linked to a planning permission in principle application for demolition of all existing buildings and the erection of a residential development, with associated works including car parking, servicing, access arrangements and landscaping.

What is proposed

The linked planning permission in principle application describes a residential development on the Fairmilehead Water Treatment Works site.

The proposal includes:

• demolition of existing buildings;
• residential use, described as Class 9/Sui Generis;
• associated car parking;
• servicing arrangements;
• access arrangements; and
• landscaping.

Planning permission in principle is used to establish whether the broad principle of development is acceptable. Detailed design, layout and technical matters may be handled through later applications if the principle is supported.

The EIA screening request does not itself grant permission for development. It is an early environmental planning step for a proposal of this scale and type.

The site on Buckstone Terrace

Fairmilehead Water Treatment Works occupies a notable site at 55 Buckstone Terrace, close to the southern edge of Edinburgh’s built-up area.

Its current character is very different from the surrounding residential streets. A water treatment works is a specialist infrastructure use, with operational buildings, access arrangements and boundary features rather than conventional housing plots.

The planning documents identify the site by its Buckstone Terrace address and its location in Fairmilehead. The map point for the application places it at around latitude 55.903631 and longitude -3.204858.

The site also has heritage interest. Historic Environment Scotland records a Category B listed designation covering the Main Building, Filter House, Hillend Pump House, Entrance Gates and Boundary Wall at Fairmilehead Water Treatment Works. That context is likely to be important for residents and heritage interests following the redevelopment proposal.

Why it matters

This is worth watching because it points to a potential major change of use for a sizeable infrastructure site in south Edinburgh.

If the wider residential proposal progresses, the visible change on the ground could be substantial: existing treatment works buildings would be removed and replaced by a housing-led layout with new access, parking, servicing and landscaping.

For neighbours in Buckstone and Fairmilehead, the main issues are likely to include the scale and form of development, traffic and access, construction impacts, landscape change, and how any heritage features are treated. For the wider city, the application touches on a recurring Edinburgh planning question: how large non-residential sites can be reused for housing while managing environmental, design and infrastructure impacts.

The EIA screening stage is also significant because it determines the level of environmental information that must accompany the project. If the council decides an Environmental Impact Assessment is required, the applicant would need to produce a more detailed environmental statement covering the likely significant effects of the proposal. If the council decides it is not required, the planning application would still need to be assessed through the normal planning process.

Earlier consultation

The redevelopment has already appeared in public planning notices.

A Proposal of Application Notice for the site was registered in February 2026 for a residential-led mixed-use redevelopment involving demolition of existing buildings. Public consultation included an event at Fairmilehead Parish Church on 11 March 2026, with comments accepted until 18 March 2026.

A Proposal of Application Notice is not a planning application for permission. It is part of the pre-application process for major developments, intended to notify the council and the community before a full application is lodged.

The current linked planning permission in principle application is now listed by the council as awaiting assessment.

What happens next

City of Edinburgh Council will consider the EIA screening request and decide whether the redevelopment proposal needs a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

Separately, the linked planning permission in principle application for the residential redevelopment is also awaiting assessment. That is the application which addresses the principle of demolition, residential development and associated works on the site.

Residents and interested parties can search the City of Edinburgh Council planning portal using the site address or the application references.

Key references are:

• EIA screening request: 26/02961/SCR
• Linked planning permission in principle application: 26/02900/PPP

The site address is Fairmilehead Water Treatment Works, 55 Buckstone Terrace, Buckstone, Edinburgh EH10 6XH.