The Edinburgh-headquartered housebuilder is to deliver urgently needed new homes in Currie after planners approved proposals for 17 terraced and detached family homes at Riccarton Mains Road.

It means the 1.15 hectare site – close to Curriehill Railway Station and many other amenities in the area – could be under construction by August and completed as early as the end of 2016.

Andrew Statham, land buyer with CALA Homes (East), said: “We welcome this positive statement of intent from the city council. It has a clear strategy for delivering family homes where they are most needed and most in demand.

“Several years of preparation work and public consultation has been involved in getting to this point. We are very pleased that effort is now coming to fruition and that we were able to demonstrate that our designs would be both suitable and sustainable for this location.

“Currie is a hugely popular area and we expect high demand from families who want to live there. The mix of properties we’ll be offering will be ideal for those moving into Currie, as well as allowing families already there the chance to trade up without moving away.”

The development will include two-storey detached, semi-detached and terraced properties. The largest will be a five-bedroom home, while a further six will have four bedrooms. Ten of the homes will offer three bedroom accommodation.

While addressing a shortage of family homes in the area, the development will also contribute financially to vital improvements at Currie Primary School, enhancements to the Hermiston Gait Park and Ride and to Gillespie Crossroads, while also helping fund affordable housing schemes. All of these being requirements of the Local Development Plan.

The approval underlines the City of Edinburgh Council’s Local Development Plan to address demand for new housing. Edinburgh’s LDP was submitted to the Scottish Government for approval last month.