Edinburgh plans submitted for demolition to make way for 172-bed student accommodation at Causewayside
Edinburgh plans submitted for demolition to make way for 172-bed student accommodation at Causewayside.
Plans have been resubmitted to demolish a downtown Edinburgh property to make way for a new 172-bed student accommodation development.
On September 1, Balfour Beatty Investments Limited submitted updated designs for the demolition of the existing Causeway House building at 140 Causewayside and the construction of purpose-built student housing, including landscaping, infrastructure, access and associated works.
The Scottish Law Commission was housed at the historic building at 140 Causewayside until 2023, when it moved to Parliament Square. It has been uninhabited since.
If permitted, the six-story development will include 172 student beds, with 10% studios and 90% cluster flats. It will be around the same size as the existing structure, but closer to the street.
Additional shared internal amenity space would be created on the ground floor level facing Causewayside, creating a lively street frontage.
The lower ground floor would have additional internal amenity space. Two courtyards, to the north and south of the applicant site, would provide usable outdoor amenity space.
A previous application was referred to the CEC Development Management Sub-Committee (DMSC) in June 2024, where it was barely denied by a vote of 5-4.
The application was denied by DMSC for six reasons, including an undesirable impact on the setting of the nearby C listed tenement, an excessive concentration of student housing, resulting in an imbalanced community, and an adverse impact on the amenity of neighbouring inhabitants and future occupiers.
The applicant challenged the decision to refuse authorisation to the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA), which likewise denied the appeal. When submitting these updated designs for the site, the applicant stated:
“The proposal seeks to address the reason the DEPA Reporter dismissed the appeal, namely the proposed mix of studio and cluster apartments.” “The amended concept currently consists of 90% cluster apartments and 10% studio units.
“The proposed development will deliver a high-quality, modern addition to the area without restricting the development potential of adjacent sites.”
The design takes into account surrounding land usage and neighbouring properties’ characteristics and amenities.
Overall, the plan will improve the character of the neighbourhood by replacing a decaying building with little architectural quality and an incongruous scale and proportions in relation to its surroundings.
“The proposed design successfully defines the street edge and re-establishes continuity with the active frontages on either side of the site.”
The new development will be of high quality and sympathetic to the streetscape and surrounding built context. Planning permission should be granted unless there are significant reasons to depart from the Development Plan.
The planning proposal has already received four private comments on the City of Edinburgh Council’s online planning portal, and three
Read more on Straightwinfortoday.com
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.