Plans for the future of the blocks
Due to their age and condition, the multi-storey blocks at Inchmickery Court and Oxcars Court in Muirhouse need significant investment and repairs to bring them up to modern standards.
After gaining planning permission to carry out significant repairs and improvement work to both blocks, we began a procurement process to identify a contractor to develop more detailed plans and do the work, and to get a clearer idea of the estimated costs involved.
Initial plans estimated that the work for both blocks would cost around £53 million. However, it became clear through the procurement process that the works are more complex than first thought due to the way the blocks were originally constructed. Unfortunately, this resulted in significantly higher than estimated costs of £86 million. This is £33 million over budget.
Following discussions with residents and , councillors decided at the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee on 2 December that the costs are not viable and agreed to demolish both blocks and redevelop the site for social housing.
The new social housing built on the site will be prioritised for existing tenants in Oxcars Court and Inchmickery Court.
