Whiteburn - Caerlee Mill

Whiteburn Portfolio: Caerlee Mill, New Build Development, Innerleithen

Bringing New Build Homes to the Scottish Borders

The Caerlee Mill development brought 44 new build homes to the Scottish Borders town of Innerleithen. The development consists of 2, 3 & 4 bedroom houses and cottage flats, each one thoughtfully designed to reflect the spirit of the former mill site. Every detail has been carefully considered – from the roof-scape echoing the sawtooth roof of the former mill buildings, to the use of materials such as slate, zinc, brick and timber cladding which hark back to the site’s industrial past.

Caerlee Mill was designed to create contemporary new homes to suit a variety of owners – families, young couples and retired people alike, to redevelop the derelict site which sits in the heart of the thriving Borders village of Innerleithen.

The development was designed to knit into the streetscape of the Innerleithen conservation area, with narrow roads winding round short terraces of houses, connecting with squares and open spaces. It followed the principals of ‘Designing Streets’ to create a development with character, with reduced dominance of cars. The existing ‘B’ listed mill building is integrated into the design to form the entrance ‘street’ from Damside and a ‘square’ is positioned in front of the mill to form a strong urban space, from which the rest of the development progresses.

The brownfield site’s industrial past is echoed in the sawtooth roof scape and the use of materials associated with the site’s heritage. Roof materials are a mix of slate and zinc. Render, zinc and timber cladding were used to vary the facades and a dark brick was selected in sympathy with the local whinstone and the industrial common bricks used in the old mill buildings.

The development was designed to foster a new community of neighbours and this is already proving successful as reflected by some of our new homeowners in their testimonials.

Our homes have an EPC high level B standard, with low energy lighting in all fixed outlets, photo voltaic panels on all properties, high performance glazing and doors, with good levels of insulation. Our houses have a dual control heating system for the ground and upper floor.

We visited the local primary school to deliver Health and Safety talks and teach pupils about the history of Caerlee Mill. Latterly, we carried out a STEM workshop with p7 children, where we taught the principles of the Local Development Plan and residential development. We created a fun project for pupils to design their own sustainable development.

We actively engaged with local politicians. The leader of the Scottish Borders Council and the local MP visited the development, with both commenting on our positive contribution to the local community.

Our homeowners up-cycled waste wood from our site to create planters and compost boxes in their gardens.

Our Show Home was furnished using local makers, printers, artists and furniture up-cyclers to show that loved pieces of furniture and local crafts are equally at home in a new build house.

We participated in the the Queens Green Canopy project, planting various indigenous trees on our development, and actively encouraged the children of the Caerlee Mill development to take part.

Our Awards

Whiteburn were awarded Home Builder of the Year – SME by Homes for Scotland in 2022, and Caerlee Mill was a finalist as Development of the Year – Medium, for Phase 2 in the same year. Caerlee Mill Phase 1 won the Homes for Scotland Development of the Year award in 2021.

Scottish Borders Design Awards named Caerlee Mill winner for Placemaking in 2022.

In the 2022 Scottish Home Awards, Caerlee Mill was a finalist for Housing Development of the Year (Small, Private Sale), and finalists in Housebuilder of the Year (Less than 100 units).
In 2021, Caerlee Mill was a finalist for Small Housing Development of the Year (private sale) for phase 1 of the development. Caerlee Mill’s Dow house type was named as a finalist in the Scottish Home awards 2020 for Show Home of the Year.

Take a look around Caerlee Mill