Our estate

A £17 million multiyear energy efficiency programme was recently established and an additional £2 million of grant funding has been received this year from the Scottish Government’s £20 million fund for public sector bodies to employ clean heating and energy efficiency improvements. A further £13 million was also secured from the Scottish Funding Council. 

This funding allows the delivery of a range of projects that form part of a programme of works required by 2040, focusing on the key themes of reducing energy demand, carbon and energy cost and enabling future transition to new net zero enabling technology. The range of projects currently underway includes: 

Following a change to Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) policy guidance in the UK in August 2023, detailed assessments have been undertaken by structural engineers, comprising a visual, non-disruptive survey, along with targeted investigations. As a result, the University restricted access to some areas of its buildings as a precautionary measure and remedial works have been ongoing, in line with advice from the Institution of Structural Engineers (iStructE). 

Building works have completed at the Western General Hospital campus and the new Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC) building was handed over to users in May 2024. The project, supported by a joint investment by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the University of Edinburgh, is a five-storey building which connects to the existing IGC East Building and IGC North Building. 

Refurbishment works have commenced at the former Tynecastle High School. The project, including an extension to the existing building, will include 469 student bedrooms with internal and external amenity space. Completion is planned for Autumn 2026. 

Upgrade works have begun at the Edinburgh College of Art. This is being carried out in phases with the first seeing the conversion of the Fire Station into academic offices. This will free up space in the other building to convert into studio space in the second phase. The central courtyard will be re-landscaped to allow for better accessibility.  

At our Pleasance Sports Complex & Gym, the refurbishment of the new Eric Liddell Gym coincided with the beginning of a new awareness drive launched by The Eric Liddell Community, the Eric Liddell 100 campaign. This programme of events and activities recognises a newly created UK sporting and community service achievements of one of Scotland’s iconic figures who was the inaugural inductee into the University of Edinburgh Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. 

The refurbishment includes a significant investment in new, state-of-the-art, equipment from Technogym. The new five-year partnership brings in 30 brand new treadmills, 15 cross-trainers, nine exercise bikes and, for the first time, eight stair climbers to the 765 metre2 space. Other key developments include the new ground-breaking Hockey 2 surface at Peffermill which is the first carbon zero hockey surface in Scotland as well as the refurbishment of the old reception and the changing areas at The Pleasance. As Mark Munro, Director of Sport & Active Health, said, “Sport and activity underpin community life on campus. We believe wellness is about choice, and we want to offer users an abundance of ways to engage with physical activity.”