West Craigs Green is a development of 122 new homes by Cruden Homes in the West Craigs area of West Edinburgh, close to the Cammo Estate and Corstorphine Hill. The development combines one, two and three-bedroom apartments, many with balconies, with three and four-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses and townhouses, all with private gardens.
SmartMist Fire installed water mist fire suppression at West Craigs Green. With apartments making up a large share of the development, this was suppression work where most of the systems sit within shared buildings, protecting several households at once.
Project overview
- Development: West Craigs Green, West Craigs, Edinburgh, EH12 0DQ
- Developer: Cruden Homes
- Project type: New build residential development of 122 apartments, houses and townhouses
- SmartMist service: Water mist fire suppression installation
- Sector: Residential new build, Edinburgh
The requirement
The apartment blocks at West Craigs Green fall directly within Standard 2.15 of the Scottish building standards, which requires buildings containing flats or maisonettes, along with social housing dwellings and shared multi-occupancy residential buildings, to be designed and constructed so that fire growth is inhibited by an automatic fire suppression system.
The applicable technical handbook depends on the building warrant date and project type, so each project should be checked against the version of Standard 2.15 that applied when the warrant was submitted or the work started.
An apartment-led development shapes the installation in ways a site of individual houses does not. Flatted blocks mean shared risers and tighter service routes, households living above and below one another, and communal areas alongside private homes. The work at West Craigs Green had to reflect that:
- Suppression designed for apartment blocks as well as individual houses and townhouses
- Pipe routes planned through shared service risers and repeated apartment layouts
- A discreet finish inside modern, design-led homes
- Clear handover information for homeowners, factors and property teams
Why water mist
Water mist systems suppress fire with fine water droplets that control flames and reduce heat. As the NFPA notes, they achieve this with less water and smaller pipework than standard sprinkler systems.
In flatted buildings, both differences count double. Smaller pipework routes cleanly through shared risers and repeated apartment layouts. And lower water flow matters more when homes sit above one another, because water discharge in one apartment can affect neighbouring homes, especially below. Limiting the discharge protects the neighbours below as well as the home where the fire started.
The result
SmartMist Fire completed the water mist installation at West Craigs Green, where apartments are now finished and occupied. The completed installation gave the project team:
- Compliant automatic fire suppression meeting Standard 2.15 across the apartment blocks
- A discreet finish in keeping with modern apartments, houses and townhouses
- An installation scheduled around the build programme
- Full handover documentation and aftercare support
What developers can take from West Craigs Green
On an apartment-led development, fire suppression is not a plot-by-plot detail. It runs through shared buildings, affects multiple homes and handover stages, and connects with ceiling details, risers and access plans that get fixed early in the design. Bringing the suppression supplier in before those decisions were settled gave the project team control and reduced the risk of late changes.
West Craigs Green is one of four developments where SmartMist has worked with Cruden Homes, alongside Longthorn Gardens at Shawfair, Longniddry Village in East Lothian and Howdenburn in Jedburgh. Repeat work with a five-star housebuilder across private and social housing reflects an approach that fits how construction programmes actually run.
If your development includes flats, maisonettes or shared residential use, ask three questions early. What does Standard 2.15 require for this building type? Is water mist suitable for the design? How will installation fit around the site programme?
Planning a development?
If you are planning a new build development, apartment block or residential fire safety upgrade in Scotland, SmartMist Fire can advise on water mist systems, installation planning and the best route for your project.
Speak to SmartMist Fire early, before fire suppression becomes a late-stage problem.