Edinburgh BioQuarter consults on Health Innovation District

An online community consultation has been launched today with the intention of developing a new mixed-use neighbourhood, as part of plans by Edinburgh BioQuarter to create a new Health Innovation District.A new fly-through of the proposed development shows the latest design phase of the masterplan to the local community, with the consultation seeking feedback on how the site will evolve over the next decade and beyond.BioQuarter, which sits to the south east of the city, is already home to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh Medical School and Centre for Regenerative Medicine, alongside a number of medical research institutes and life sciences businesses. The ambition is that BioQuarter will grow to a community of more than 20,000 people who will live, work or study at the 167-acre site. The expansion will support an estimated 9,000 longer term new jobs, plus additional construction jobs, while greatly expanding the numbers of spin-out and start-up companies.BioQuarter’s Partners – the City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Lothian, Scottish Enterprise, and the University of Edinburgh – are updating their existing masterplan to include a wider mix of uses including an increase in residential and commercial properties planned at the site. The consultation on the plan will run online – due to current restrictions caused by COVID-19 – between June 18 and July 13.Proposals featured as part of the online consultation include the construction of shops, cafés, a gym, hotel, nursery and residential homes set alongside state-of-the-art innovation, teaching and healthcare facilities.With the commitment of its partners, BioQuarter has already benefitted from over £500 million of public capital investment and has a further £300m of investment planned over the next five years. The site is also home to innovative research including STOPCOVID, a project aiming to test existing and experimental drugs as treatments for COVID-19, spearheaded by the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Inflammation Research.