Redevelopment of 140 Causewayside EH9 1PR

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The building that currently houses the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) at 140 Causewayside is being marketed as a development opportunity.  This brochure describes the potential and includes this video of the site.  The site is to the north of the Tesco Express, on the west side of the street.

 

The brochure states that SLC will remain in occupation until Summer 2023 and notes:

 

“This site is not allocated for any specific use within Edinburgh’s Local Development Plan and it is likely to be suitable for Residential use, Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA)
or Build to Rent (BTR) and planning permission will be required. Any proposed development scheme should be respectful of the location setting, the character and appearance of the
adjacent Conservation Area and the scale of buildings in the surrounding area”

 

Although the properties to the north and west of the site lie within the Grange Conservation Area, the site itself is not in any conservation area and so permission would not be required for demolition of the buildings.  Planning permission will be required for any redevelopment of the site.  The brochure notes:

 

“Avison Young’s planning team have engaged with City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) on an informal pre-application basis to review potential redevelopment potential for the site. [….] in summary, the following development would [be likely to be] supported by the CEC’s Planning Department:

Purpose Built Student Accommodation:
131 beds in a mix of studio (71 beds) and cluster apartments (60 beds).

Residential development for private sale:
32 apartments in a mix of one, two and three-bedroom flats.

Residential development for Built to Rent.

Scale:
New five storey building”

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

Update – 23 May 2023

The site at 140 Causewayside has been acquired by Balfour Beatty Investments (BBI).  It proposes to develop purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) on the site. It has submitted a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN – 23/02186/PAN) to the Council, notifying its intention to submit a full planning application.

For such major developments, the developer is obliged to submit a PAN and to undertake a consultation with the local community and to include, in its subsequent planning application, the outcome of that consultation and any features of the application which have been included to address the matters raised by consultees.  A full planning application cannot be submitted until at least 12 weeks after such a consultation has started.  Residents will still be able to comment to the Council on the planning application in the normal way, notwithstanding the earlier consultation by the developer.

The agent for BBI has written to the Community Councils and the Grange Association, inviting us to meet them to learn more about the proposals.  In its correspondence, it writes:

“The site is a suitable location for PBSA in terms of access to higher education facilities, active travel and public transport services. It also falls below the 0.25-hectare area and there is therefore no provision required for residential development.

A mix of student and cluster flats are proposed.

This development will serve to address an increasing student demand in the capital, ensuring that they are occupying PBSA rather than other homes in the city more appropriate for families.”

At this stage, the applicants’ plans are not known to us, beyond the description “Demolition of existing building and development of purpose-built student accommodation with landscaping, infrastructure, access and associated works“.  We do not know how many accommodation units are proposed, nor how many floors the new building would comprise.  We have only the indications from the marketing agent in the post above in 2022 (“131 beds in a mix of studio (71 beds) and cluster apartments (60 beds)”).

There will be two public consultation events, with both exhibitions held at Mayfield Salisbury Church (West Mayfield EH9 1TQ), from 4pm – 7.30 pm on:

• Thurs 15 June 2023; and
• Thurs 27 July 2023.

The agents have created a project website which will host digital copies of the exhibition materials. This is not yet active but should be live by 15 June.

[sl318aParticipant]

Yawn … surely … surely we will get to “peak student accommodation” ?

If only it meant more flats for families available in, say, Marchmont.

If only the affordable housing they always promise actually happened.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The developers’ agents have issued this flyer promoting the first consultation event, which will be between 4pm – 7.30pm on Thursday 15 June, at Mayfield Salisbury Church.

The project website is now live with general background information. The agents have committed that “Exhibition material detailing the proposed development will also be uploaded on this website on the day of the event.”

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The second public consultation event is on Thursday 27 July at Mayfield Salisbury Church (West Mayfield EH9 1TQ), from 4pm – 7.30 pm.

The project website will host digital copies of the exhibition materials from 9am that day, with updates from the first event, and the agents have issued this flyer to advertise the second event.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The full planning application for the site redevelopment is now available for comment on the Council’s planning portal as 23/07375/FUL. The documents include this ‘visualisations package‘ which includes this view of the existing street view from the corner with Grange Road:

It also includes these visualisations of the proposed development:

The proposals incorporate beds for 174 students, significantly more than the 131 initially indicated in the earlier posts in this thread.

[ianggrantParticipant]

Very pleased to note that this planning application has been rejected by the Council and the decision reflects the objections that were lodged by the local residents

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

As noted above, planning application 23/07375/FUL was refused by the Development Management Sub-Committee at its meeting on 12 June 2024, by five votes to four. The planning officers had drafted this report recommending approval.  However, some of the Councillors on the Sub-Committee presented a contrary view.

You can view the discussion at the Sub-Committee (from 2h31m56, and runs for 52 minutes). The Decision Notice now specifies six grounds for refusal:

1. The proposal is contrary to Section 59 of the Listed Buildings and Conservation
Area Act 1997 as the development will have an adverse impact on the setting of the
adjacent C Listed tenement.

2. The proposal is contrary to NPF 4 Policy 7(c) as the proposed development will
have an adverse impact on the setting of the adjacent C Listed tenement.

3. The proposed development is contrary to Policy Hou 8 of the Edinburgh Local
Development as the proposals result in an excessive concentration of student
accommodation and results in an imbalanced community.

4. The proposals have failed to demonstrate that the existing building cannot be
reused contrary to NPF 4 Policy 9.

5. The proposals fail to deliver the provision of outdoor space with access for all
contrary to Policy 7(e) of the Edinburgh Local Development Plan.

6. The proposed development will have an adverse impact on amenity of adjacent
residents and future occupiers contrary to policies Des 4 and Des 5 of the Edinburgh
Local Development Plan.

 

The developers now have three months, until 20 September 2024, to lodge an appeal against this decision with the Scottish Government’s Division for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA).

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The developers have now lodged an appeal PPA-230-2511 with the Scottish Government, who will allocate a Reporter to assess the application and the Council’s response to it. The target date for the appeal is 17 October 2024.  Any comments or objections already lodged with the Council concerning the original applicaton will automatically be copied to the Reporter. However, interested members of the public can provide additional or new comments to the Reporter by 15 August 2024.  

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The appeal to the Scottish Government’s Division for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) was dismissed on 28 October 2024.  The Reporter issued this Decision Notice explaining the decision.

The Decision Notice explains that the Reporter concluded in favour of the developer on most matters to which objections had been raised by residents and by Councillors, including the six matters in post #17776 above.  However, the Reporter observed that the most recent Local Development Plan makes new specific requirements for student accommodation:

“Proposed Policy Hou 5 also includes a new provision that restricts the amount of studio flats in student accommodation to be no more than 10% of the available bed spaces. The supporting text explains that this is to avoid isolation and to promote healthy student communities where students interact to improve wellbeing. Clusters are the proposed plan’s preferred method to achieve this. The appellant acknowledges that 72% of the proposal is for studio apartments and that this does not achieve what proposed Policy Hou 5 seeks.”

…..

“Since the internal layout would fail to deliver the necessary qualities of successful places, I must conclude that the proposal is poorly designed and so will not be supported under [National Planning Framework] 4 Policy 14(c).“

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The dismissal of the appeal to the Scottish Government has now been referred to the Court of Session by Balfour Beatty Investments Ltd.  Updates can be followed at PPA-230-2511.

 

**UPDATE**: The Appeal to the Court of Session has been withdrawn.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

A new ‘Proposal of Application Notice’ (PAN) 25/02125/PAN has been submitted by BBI.  This implies that new proposals are to be submitted.  The PAN notifies that two public exhibitions will be held in Mayfield Salisbury Church, from 1530 – 1900 on:

• Thurs 19 June 2025; and
• Thurs 17 July 2025.

There is no indication yet how these proposals may differ from the previous application.  The appeal against refusal of that application is still pending a hearing at the Court of Session.

[FindhornParticipant]

The Courts of Session hearing appears to be the 30th July.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The developers have released copies of the exhibition boards used at the public events for the new application 25/02125/PAN.  They are available from the project’s website and are attached here in a single PDF file.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The full planning application for the revised proposals is now available at 25/04488/FUL. Comments can be submitted to the Council until 3 October 2025.  The revised proposals are for “a mix of clusters and studios numbering 172 units“.

**UPDATE**: The application was granted on 23 March 2026.

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