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Pride was the overwhelming emotion as an innovative £11.6m health and housing initiative was named in honour of the late Edinburgh councillor Elizabeth Maginnis.

An array of VIP guests - including members of the Maginnis family and her husband Michael - attended the official opening of Elizabeth Maginnis Court on Royston Mains Crescent, North Edinburgh. The development was built by Dunedin Canmore Group in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council who contributed £7.7m towards the cost.

Ewan Fraser, Chief Executive of Dunedin Canmore Group, welcomed guests including Margo MacDonald MSP, Cardinal Keith O'Brien and city Health, Social Care and Housing Convenor, Councillor Paul Edie, to the event.

Elizabeth Maginnis Court provides 68 self contained flats offering flexible care for older and vulnerable people. It is designed to enable residents to be as independent for as long as possible. Seven of the flats were designed for wheelchair users and incorporate wet rooms and adapted kitchens. There are also two lifts providing access to every floor of the building.

The building also has a hard wired emergency call system linked to the City of Edinburgh Council's Community Alarm Telecare Service. Pull cords are in every room giving tenants access to emergency assistance 24/7 and help is also on offer from social care and day support workers. The council's Granton Day Care Centre is based in a self-contained wing on the ground floor of the building.

Ewan Fraser, Chief Executive of Dunedin Canmore Group, said: "It is an honour to name this new development in memory of the late Councillor Elizabeth Maginnis. She shared many of the values held by Dunedin Canmore Group such as a belief in assisting the vulnerable.

"This valuable community facility built in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council enables older people to enjoy their independence longer in the knowledge that expert care and support are available if needed."

Family friends, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, and Councillor Eric Milligan paid tribute to Mrs Maginnis.

Cardinal O'Brien said: "She gave so much pleasure to young people through school buildings, now I hope and pray that much pleasure and indeed essential comforts would be given to all residents in this magnificent Elizabeth Maginnis Court.

"I am sure all of her family, as indeed myself as one of those extended members of her family, are intensely proud at this moment and thank God for the gift of Elizabeth Maginnis to our community and our city."

Margo MacDonald MSP formally opened the development by unveiling a plaque.

She said: "There could not be a more fitting tribute and memorial to Elizabeth Maginnis. Although she had style a plenty, she also had even more substance and it was all invested in the work she did for vulnerable members of the community."

Councillor Edie, said: "This fantastic development is part of Edinburgh's Live Well in Later Life Plan and a partnership between the council and Dunedin Canmore Group. It really does set the standard for other local authorities to follow.

"It's very fitting that such an excellent development is named after Elizabeth Maginnis. She was a tireless worker for the community where she grew up and particularly for older people."

ENDS