Lying between Ferry Road in Edinburgh and the former Granton Gas Works, West Pilton comprises a series of private developments scattered through a public housing estate which was begun in 1936-7 following garden city principles, but not completed until the mid-1950s, building having been suspended during the Second World War. Farmland was purchased from the Duke of Buccleuch by Edinburgh Corporation in 1935. Initially pre-fabricated houses were constructed, but these were replaced by two and three-storey maisonettes, with the ten-storey Inchgarvie and Inchcolm Courts towards the southeast. To the north is the West The area has suffered from significant social problems. From the mid-1980s, West Pilton and the neighbouring Muirhouse have been undergoing significant renewal, with many of the tired and vandalised blocks being replaced or rejuvenated. For example, the Granton Housing Association has built new public and private housing across the area. Unfortunately much greenspace has been lost; West Pilton Circus Park was developed with private housing, while sections of West Pilton Park have been lost to council offices and West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre. To the north the West Granton development of the 1970s was also replaced by private housing. Several community projects are aimed at improving security and the social structure of the area. Pilton still suffers unemployment rates of more than double the average for Edinburgh, with a larger proportion of long-term unemployment.
