Wester Hailes is an area in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Wester Hailes borders on
Kingsknowe
Kingsknowe (; gd, Cnocan an Righ) is a suburb of Edinburgh the capital of Scotland. It is south-west of Craiglockhart, and borders Wester Hailes, Slateford and Longstone.
History
Knowe comes from the word Knoll, a small hillock. The Kings ...
and
Longstone Longstone or Long Stone may refer to
Places
*Longstone, Edinburgh, a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland
* Longstone, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland
*Longstone, Cornwall, a hamlet in Cornwall, England
*Longstone, Isles of Sc ...
to the east. Bankhead Industrial Estate and Sighthill Park lie to the north.
History
Although named after a large private house, the area was not substantially developed until the early-1970s, which is reflected in the dominant housing styles, mainly purpose-built flats and
tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently ...
s.
It was extensively redeveloped during the 1990s and 2000s, with a large number of properties being renovated and some others -such as the high rise "slab block" flats at Hailesland Park being demolished and replaced with newer "low rise" housing. As well as council and private housing, there is a community housing association called Prospect Community Housing based in Westburn Avenue, who have housing in the Westburn,
Clovenstone, Walkers, Barn Park areas of Wester Hailes.
Facilities
Westside Plaza is the main social and shopping hub of the area, comprising a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
,
Jobcentre
Jobcentre Plus ( cy, Canolfan byd Gwaith; gd, Ionad Obrach is Eile) is a brand used by the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom.
From 2002 to 2011, Jobcentre Plus was an executive agency which reported directly to the Minis ...
,
council housing
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
office, library, newsagent, a
bingo
Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers
** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland
** Bi ...
hall, an
Odeon
Odeon may refer to:
Ancient Greek and Roman buildings
* Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions
* Odeon of Agrippa, Athens
* Odeon of Athens
* Odeon of Domitian, Rome
...
cinema and a collection of shops both adjacent to and inside the Wester Hailes Shopping Centre. A
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
, optician, pharmacy, and a dentist can be found inside the latter. The indoor market closed in 2014, and the space re-opened in 2015 as a gym.
Local education centres include
Stevenson College, the
Wester Hailes Education Centre
Wester Hailes High School is a mixed non-denominational high school in Wester Hailes, in the South-West suburb of Edinburgh. The current principal is David Young and the roll is about 303. In addition to the school on the site, there is a swimming ...
, th
WHALE Arts Centre the
Sighthill Sighthill may refer to:
* Sighthill, Edinburgh
Sighthill is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The area is bordered by Broomhouse and Parkhead to the east, South Gyle to the north, the industrial suburb of Bankhead and the Calders ...
campus of
Napier University
, mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain
, established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 802
, administrative_staff = 562
, chancellor = Will Whitehorn
, ...
and the main campus of
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
to the west, in
Riccarton Riccarton may refer to:
New Zealand
* Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch
** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it
** The location of Riccarton Race Course
* a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago
Scotlan ...
.
A swimming pool is located in the Wester Hailes Education Centre.
Transport links
The main points of arrival and departure for Wester Hailes are the string of bus stops located on the northern edge of Westside Plaza (formerly Wester Hailes Shopping Centre), and the
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
a short distance to the south.
Bus services departing here are the 3, 21, 30, 33 & 400 provided by
Lothian buses
Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...
and 20 provided by
McGill's Scotland East
McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.[Gyle Shopping Centre
The Gyle Shopping Centre is located in the South Gyle area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The main centre has two anchor tenants, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons (formerly Safeway), at opposite ends of the shopping centre.
Construction
A new district ...]
, the
Hermiston Gait Hermiston may refer to:
* Hermiston, Edinburgh, Scotland
* Hermiston, Oregon, U.S.
** Hermiston Butte
* ''Weir of Hermiston'' (1896), an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
People
* Andrew Douglas of Hermiston (died before 1277), Scottish ...
shopping complex and the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...
at
Little France
Little France is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the A7, approximately south of the city centre.
The area falls within the parish of Liberton in the south-east of the city. It acquired its name from members of the ent ...
. Service 44 passes nearby to the south on its way to
Currie
Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...
and
Balerno
Balerno (; gd, Baile Àirneach, IPA: paleˈɛːɾʲnəx Scots: Balerno or Balernie) is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the cou ...
; services 25, 34 and 35 pass nearby to the north, with destinations including
Hermiston Park & Ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rap ...
and
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
's
Riccarton Riccarton may refer to:
New Zealand
* Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch
** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it
** The location of Riccarton Race Course
* a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago
Scotlan ...
Campus. There is also pedestrian and cycle access east towards the city centre, via the
Union Canal
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
.
References
External links
Wester Hailes Digital Sentinelat
Gazetteer for Scotland
The ''Gazetteer for Scotland'' is a gazetteer covering the geography, history and people of Scotland. It was conceived in 1995 by Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh and David Munro of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and cont ...
Academia
Wester Hailes Education CentreHeriot-Watt UniversityNapier UniversityStevenson College
{{Areas of Edinburgh
Areas of Edinburgh
Housing estates in Edinburgh