In this week’s edition….
New Town ‘development opportunity’;
Port Edgar marina for sale;
Temporary accommodation change plans;
Princes Street reflections;
The trams inquiry;
Congestion charging debate gaining traction?;
End to free parking on Christmas Day, etc?;
Speed limit on several streets to be reduced to 30mph;
Liberton Fire Station;
The Elephant House;
Tourism levy concerns;
Cruise ship levy;
Rose Street;
Permission being sought for ‘Maroon Mile’ lamppost banners;
Final of ‘Scotland’s Home of the Year’ being broadcast on Monday, with an Edinburgh contender;
Planning permission being sought for housing on Western Harbour;
Sainsbury’s looking to open supermarket on Princes Street;
Artists beginning to move into Granton studios;
Marionville Fire Station petition;
Battery storage plan rejected;
Public consultation events taking place about Causewayside student accommodation plans;
Drylaw and Telford masterplan;
Updates on two planning applications;
Bicycle use up; and
Enjoy!
A RESIDENTIAL ‘development opportunity’ is being marketed, in the New Town.
Says Savills, which has been appointed to market the site: “Located at 108–114 and 116 Dundas Street, the site benefits from detailed planning permission for the demolition of existing office buildings and the creation of a mixed-use development comprising 58 apartments. This will include 12 affordable homes, and three high-profile commercial units totalling 9,429 sq ft.”
Called ‘New Town Residences’, the scheme also includes 31 underground parking spaces and private terraces at penthouse level.
Read more, here.
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MEANWHILE, Port Edgar Marina is also being marketed, for sale, by Savills.
Says Savills, here: “The sale includes the entire shareholding of Port Edgar (Holdings) Ltd, Port Edgar Marina Ltd, and Production Yachts (Port Edgar) Ltd, encompassing all business assets, operational interests, and the long leasehold of the property, which runs until 2100 under lease from The City of Edinburgh Council. Operations will continue as normal during and after the sale, with all staff and tenants remaining in place.”
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A STUDENT block on Gorgie Road is being considered as temporary residential accommodation for households that are homeless.
The block - at 555 Gorgie Road - is the subject of a planning application (here, ref 25/02289/FUL) for a change of use.
The expectation is that the building will be, at some point, purchased by the city council.
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IT’S a mixed bag of emotions to be found in Herald journalist, Susan Swarbrick’s long read about Princes Street, from Saturday - here.
And although it is traditionally sub-editors, not journalists, who pen headlines, there might be something of a clue in the headline: ‘I used to love Princes Street but it breaks my heart to see it now’.
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JUST as the delayed and over-budget construction of phase one of Edinburgh’s trams system (from the airport to York Place) was described to have been bedevilled by a “litany of avoidable failures” the inquiry (here) into it has been described in similar unflattering terms.
Widely reported - including here and here - the chair of the inquiry, Rt. Hon Lord Hardie, has identified “the impression of our reinventing the wheel” as to why the inquiry took nine years to complete, at a cost of £13m - despite assurances to the contrary, when it was launched.
Adds Scottish Legal News, here: “He also criticised the decision to establish the investigation on a non-statutory basis, which left it without the power to compel evidence. This, he said, prevented him from accessing material held by The City of Edinburgh Council and meant key witnesses refused to co-operate.”
On Tuesday, he addressed MSPs on the Finance and Public Administration committee at the Scottish Parliament (here, starting at the 10:01:40 mark), reportedly after having submitted a letter.
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THE no-doubt thorny issue of congestion charging appears to be gaining some traction, with the topic being aired (here on Monday) on the website, EdinburghInquirer, and which was mentioned in last week’s edition of BuildEdinburgh - here.
Arguably what did for the idea last time - in 2005, when it was roundly defeated in a plebiscite - was the prospect of there being more than one boundary ring operating.
Potentially, a much simpler approach would be to identify the relatively few entry points into Edinburgh and take it from there; eg exemptions for ‘key’ workers, drivers with a disability and emergency vehicles, while recognising that people come into Edinburgh from local authority areas that might be charging a lower Council Tax.
And that any surplus might go towards repairing the city’s broken roads and even constructing new access routes (light rail? bus-only corridors?) into the city.
Expect a feature on the subject, on BuildEdinburgh, in due course.
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MIGHT free car parking in Edinburgh - on significant dates such as Christmas Day and New Year’s Day - be soon a thing of the past?
‘Local democracy reporter’, Joe Sullivan (his post funded by the BBC) considers the issue on the website of broadcaster, STV - here.
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WORK is to begin over the coming weeks, converting the speed limit on several streets in Edinburgh - from 40mph to 30mph.
Among those streets affected - as announced here - are Biggar Road and Queensferry Road.
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A PLANNING application has been submitted to replace a Fire Station on Kirk Brae, in Liberton, with a two-storey new-build.
It’s because the current building - built in 1976 - is believed to be suffering from the lightweight concrete material RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) which has been found to be at risk of failure, should it come into contact with moisture. And also asbestos.
The project managers are understood to be Mott MacDonald and the application (ref 25/02427/FUL) can be found here.
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THE Elephant House cafe building on George IV Bridge - popular for its association with Harry Potter creator, JK Rowling - is the subject of a planning application, to restore it.
Says the planning application, here (ref 25/02531/LBC): “Alterations to restore the premises following a fire - refurbish the interior to return the property to a useable condition, restore the exterior of the building.”
The architects are understood to be Simon Laird Associates.
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THE upcoming visitor levy - a modest charge for overnight stays (first happening, in Scotland, in Edinburgh from July next year (here)) - should be collected ‘digitally’, according to the signatories of a letter from the country’s hospitality sector.
Say the signatories - said to be nearly 80 of them, here: they want the Scottish Government to amend the levy terms to, among several other things, reduce the administrative burden on, particularly, smaller operators in collecting the charge.
They feel a QR code would help achieve that, and - were the money to go directly to the local authority - it might prevent tipping some operators into having to register for and charge VAT.
The story is covered extensively by The Herald newspaper, here.
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MEANWHILE, the city council is urging the implementation of a levy on cruise ship passengers, who are understood to be currently exempt from the above-mentioned visitor levy.
Says the council - here - it has formally responded to a consultation on the subject - here - being hosted by the Scottish Government.
The council estimates 217,500 cruise ship passengers visit Edinburgh and the wider region every year, and that a cruise ship levy could raise as much as £1m, annually.
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ROSE Street: Edinburgh’s ‘Cinderella Street’? - discuss.
That’s exactly what the Edinburgh Inquirer’s David Forsyth is doing, here.
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PLANNING permission is being sought for the installation of lamppost banners, helping to celebrate the history of Heart of Midlothian Football Club.
The ‘Maroon Mile’ (here) would begin at Haymarket, ending at the club’s Tynecastle Park stadium.
Says the planning application - here, ref 25/02420/ADV: “The Maroon Mile heritage trail will consist of lamppost banners. The banners have been designed with the guidance, and in accordance with The City of Edinburgh Council's banner template and regulations. The lamppost locations have been selected by CEC.”
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MONDAY evening sees the final of the BBC Scotland series, Scotland’s Home of the Year, being screened - details here, on the BBC’s ‘Media Centre’ website.
As previously reported on BuildEdinburgh (here), an Edinburgh flat is in the running: Wee City Nook.
It had been put up for sale - for offers over £250,000, here - with a closing date of last Tuesday.
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PLANNING permission is being sought for a residential development on Western Harbour, Granton (here, ref: 25/01762/FUL).
It is for 154 apartments.
The architects are 56three.
The local Friends of Western Harbour Ponds, is recommending that people object, saying, here: “As a campaign committee, our position remains as before: ANY development on ANY part of the wider Ponds site would be unacceptable to us, as it would fragment this much-loved, naturalised blue-green space and disrupt the precious wetland and woodland habitats that Nature has created here.”
Reports Urban Realm, here: “Subject to an expired 2008 approval, for 109 flats, the density has been upped to tackle Edinburgh's ongoing housing crisis while retaining a sense of 'waterfront character' for the tenure-blind proposal.
“In a planning statement, the architects observed: ‘A combination of four types of facing brick: dark red, pale red, buff and pale buff are used to accentuate the elevations, creating depth and intrigue.’”
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THE supermarket giant, Sainsbury’s, is looking to take up residence in the east end of Princes Street, in premises previously occupied by health and wellbeing store, Holland & Barrett (and before them, The Disney Store).
Despite being refused to sell alcohol - as reported here.
The now empty shop is located on 18-19 Princes Street.
Sainsbury’s recently vacated its premises at the very east end of Rose Street, as the office block it was situated in (on the ground floor) is now being turned into a hotel.
The story is reported by Edinburgh Live, here.
The application (ref: 25/02501/FUL) can be found, here.
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ARTISTS have begun to move into studios set up in a former gas works railway station in Granton.
The station - a B-listed building - is owned by the city council and has been leased to the artists’ spaces organisation, Wasps.
Says Wasps, here: “Disused as a station since 1942, the new facility will deliver a 600m2 creative hub offering affordable, high-quality workspaces, co-working desk spaces, a gallery/workshop space and meeting room provision, set in a newly-landscaped public realm and outdoor events space.”
It is understood 13 artists have moved into studios on the first floor of the building, with spaces still available to rent: lettings@waspsstudios.org.uk.
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OVER 2,000 people have signed a petition (at the time of writing), calling for the retention of a Fire Station in Marionville.
The station has been earmarked for possible closure after it was discovered to be suffering from the lightweight concrete material RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) which has been found to be at risk of failure, were it to have come into contact with moisture.
According to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, here, it has found 14 stations affected by RAAC: Crewe Toll (Edinburgh), Cumbernauld, Dalkeith, Galashiels, Hawick, Helensburgh, Huntly, Liberton (Edinburgh - see above), Livingston, Marionville, Milngavie, Portree, Stewarton and Tranent.
Yesterday, journalist, Ian Swanson, in the Edinburgh Evening News wrote - here: “But fire chiefs say no decision has been made and nothing will happen until the public have been consulted.”
The local MP, Chris Murray, is among several politicians to have voiced their concerns, here.
The petition can be viewed here.
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COUNCILLORS have rejected an application to construct a battery storage facility in Burdiehouse.
A meeting of the council’s Development Management sub-committee agreed with planners to refuse the application, which can be read, here (ref: 24/01489/FUL).
The application was billed: “Proposed renewable energy development comprising the installation of 49.9MWH BESS (Battery Energy Storage System), access, landscaping, and associated works (as amended).”
The site description, here, reads: “The 1.53 hectare application site is arable land immediately north of the City of Edinburgh Bypass (A720) and includes the access track from the existing concrete bridge adjacent to a local path.
“It is adjacent to agricultural fields to the north and west.
“To the east lies the existing Kaimes Substation and its associated infrastructure. To the south is the City of Edinburgh bypass (A720). To the north and west, three transmission lines and associated pylons transverse across the same agricultural field which rises upslope to the north.
“Further north and west is Burdiehouse Burn. The residential development of Broomhills (application number 14/04860/FUL) is further north across the Burdiehouse Burn. Further north east, after the Kaimes Sub station, is Burdiehouse Road and an established residential area.”
Broadly, the proposal was rejected on the grounds of impinging the Green Belt (especially when there are possible alternative sites on what are considered to be brownfield sites on the other (southern) side of the Edinburgh Bypass) plus ‘insufficient information’.
Watch the decision in a webcast (around the 2:07:00 mark, preceded by a full debate, here).
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TWO public meetings are being organised as part of so-called Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) involving the vacant Scottish Law Commission office building at 140 Causewayside.
They are being organised on behalf of Balfour Beatty Investments, which is preparing to submit a planning application for student accommodation on the site - as noted, here.
The PAN can be viewed here (ref: 25/02125/PAN), and the meetings are scheduled for the 19th of next month (3.30pm to 7.00pm) and July 17 (also 3.30pm to 7.00pm) - both at Mayfield Salisbury Church.
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MEANWHILE, planning permission has been refused for a student accommodation proposal on Inglis Green Gait in Longstone.
The application (ref 25/00782/FUL, here) was for 17 ‘student accommodation units’.
A ‘a detrimental loss of trees’ was cited as one of the reasons for refusal, here.
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VIEWS are being sought on a masterplan for Drylaw and Telford, with a chance to participate taking place a week tomorrow, at Drylaw Parish Church.
A summer fete is taking place (on Saturday, June 7) between 11am and 2pm. Details, here, as reported by the North Edinburgh News website.
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TWO planning applications reported last week on BuildEdinburgh (here) have since been approved by councillors: (1) a hotel at Cameron Toll shopping centre, and (2) townhouses by housing charity, Lar, at the Madelvic former car factory in Granton.
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BICYCLE traffic on a sample of two Edinburgh streets looks like it is beginning to creep upwards, according to the cycle campaign group, Spokes.
Says the group of its surveying of Lothian Road and Forrest Road: “The 08.00-09.00 increase to 16.7 per cent, from 16.3 per cent in 2024, was marginal, with both car and bike numbers rising somewhat.
“However, at lunchtime (12.30-13.30) the bike percentage was up from 10.2 per cent to 11.1 per cent, with car numbers falling – indeed, for the first time ever, there were fewer private cars than the bus/taxi/van total, our ‘commercial’ category.”
Read more, here.
Image details: Old Royal High School; copyright Mike Wilson