Unearthed footage shows an Edinburgh council estate before it was transformed.
A video dating back to 1997 has emerged online, showing the Greendykes area in Scotland’s capital before it underwent a significant redevelopment. The incredible footage, which was shared on YouTube by the account Craigmillar Gold and shows fire services fighting a fire, was primarily filmed from the top of the high-rise buildings.
As reported by Edinburgh Live, the low-rise buildings that can be seen in the video have since been torn down. It also shows children playing on hay bales in fields that are now vast empty spaces.
Captured on March 11, 1997, the video presents a distinctly different Greendykes compared to today. During the 1990s, the estate gained notoriety for being the site of one of Edinburgh’s most severe riots.
A few years earlier, in 1994, hundreds of youths commandeered the area, flinging rocks and bottles at officers and setting vehicles alight. The incident last two entire days and left six police wounded, with Lothian and Borders Police later stating the unrest was sparked by the apprehension of a local boy a few days prior.
Greendykes was once the fourth most deprived area in the country, according to the 2006 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. It has undergone a transformation from its days as farmland in the 1940s, through various stages of redevelopment.
The familiar cycle of regeneration saw the original housing replaced by low-rise flats in the 1960s. These stood until their demolition in the late-2000s.
While not completely free from crime, Greendykes has distanced itself from its past struggles. In 2023, the City of Edinburgh Council announced they were awarded funding by the Scottish Government to construct 130 net-zero carbon homes on the former site of Greendykes Gardens.
The project was part of the government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme, with preparation support amounting to £260,000. At the time, housing convener Jane Meagher commented: “Never has our need for better housing been greater, as we face a cost of living crisis and climate emergency.
“For years, developers have overlooked this empty piece of land because of how complex it is to unlock. Yet, it’s situated minutes away from the Innocent Railway cycle path and is close to the Royal Infirmary and local employment.
“The area benefits from countless bus links to the city centre and is a fantastic place to live. I’m thrilled that we’re going to be able to put the green back into Greendykes.”
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