Pilton is a residential area of northern
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It is to the north of
Ferry Road
Ferry Road is one of the major roads of Edinburgh, Scotland, deriving its name from being the road from Queensferry to Leith. It runs from the eastern end of Davidson's Mains village in the west, to Leith in the east, passing through Drylaw, ...
, immediately east of
Muirhouse
Muirhouse is a housing estate in the north of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
Location
The housing estate of Muirhouse (Pennywell and Muirhouse) is bounded by Muirhouse Parkway to the North, Pennywell Road to the East, Ferry Road to the So ...
, and to the west and south of
Granton (the Boswall, Royston Mains and Wardieburn neighbourhoods).
Description
Sometimes considered to be part of the larger neighbouring area of Granton, Pilton consists of two housing schemes - West Pilton and East Pilton. These neighbourhoods, particularly West Pilton, are regarded as among the most economically deprived areas in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and suffer from high crime rates and
anti-social behaviour
Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...
especially young joyriders stealing powerful motorbikes and cars, or otherwise damaging vehicles.
Most of West Pilton was formerly social housing constructed by the council between the 1930s and 1950s (with a hiatus during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
) but now these properties are largely privately owned. The housing mostly takes the form of
maisonette
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...
s and three storey blocks of flats. There are also two 1960s ten-storey
tower blocks
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...
(Inchcolm Court and Inchgarvie Court) and one with 16 storeys (Northview Court). In addition, new housing developments have been built by the private sector and the area is currently undergoing revitalisation. There are local shops and community services.
Built on the lands of East Pilton Farm in the 1930s by
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
-based builder Mactaggart & Mickel to a street layout by the Edinburgh City Architect
Ebenezer James MacRae, the streets of East Pilton mainly take various names beginning Crewe or Pilton. The original estate comprises mostly
four-in-a-block flatted villas similar to those by the same builder at
Carrick Knowe
Carrick Knowe is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh in Scotland, located approximately 3 miles from the city centre. It is bordered by Tyler's Acre to the north, the Glasgow/Aberdeen railway line to the south, Carrick Knowe Golf Course to the east ...
, Colinton Mains and elsewhere in the city as well as in several districts of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. Streets in a new development on the site of the demolished
Bruce Peebles & Co. Ltd. engineering works (destroyed by fire in 1999)
Bruce Peebles Transformer Factory Fire
EdinPhoto take the East Pilton Farm name.
Sport
Spartans F.C.
The Spartans Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Edinburgh. They were formed in 1951 by ex-players of Edinburgh University and the original intention was to field a team of graduates of the university. However, the club is no ...
are based in the area, playing off Pilton Drive at Ainslie Park
Ainslie Park is a football stadium located in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Lowland Football League club Spartans and the club's women's team in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL). In addition, Scottish Professional ...
since 2008; a public leisure centre of the same name is immediately adjacent to the ground. Their previous home City Park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
was two blocks to the south-east – housing now occupies the site.
Ethnicity
References
External links
*
{{Areas of Edinburgh
Areas of Edinburgh
Housing estates in Edinburgh