Student accommodation at 33-41 Ratcliffe Terrace EH9 1SX

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

There is a proposal to build Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) at 33-41 Ratcliffe Terrace, opposite the junction of Grange Loan with Ratcliffe Terrace.  The site is just outwith the Grange Association area and is not in any conservation area. The plans are available on the Council’s planning portal at 25/02258/FUL.  The proposal is for 115 bedspaces. The documents there include this Design Statement and this addendum with visualisations of the development seen from the street, as below:

From Grange Loan:

From Ratcliffe Terrace (looking south):

From Ratcliffe Terrace (looking north):

 

The developers had previously submitted a proposal for student accommodation with 59 rooms on the adjacent site at 27-31 Ratcliffe Terrace. That application is described in this thread on our forum, together with the planning officers’ recommendation to refuse planning permission and the reasons for that recommendation.

Comments, on this new application for 33-41 Ratcliffe Terrace, can be submitted on the Council’s portal until 30 May 2025.

[FindhornParticipant]

I note the intent in the wider masterplan is still to demolish 27-31 Ratcliffe Terrace, built as the Causewayside Lads Club. This would be a real shame. The treatment of the Georgian 2 storey building is grim.

I’ve no objection to PBSA in principle but the design is poor. Student Castle at 199 Causewayside has been the best bit of respectful local infill in my opinion.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The proposals were refused planning permission on 3 October 2025. The reasons cited were:

1. The proposal is contrary to National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Policy 14 and Local Development Plan (LDP) Policy Env 4 (Design Development – Impact on Setting) as the rear elements of the proposals represent over development of the site in terms of its height, scale, massing and built form on a small backland site.

2. The proposals are also contrary to LDP Policy Env 2 (Co-ordinated Development) as the design compromises the effective development of the adjacent site, primarily to the north.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The developers have lodged an appeal against the refusal of planinng permission in the June-2025 application 25/02258/FUL (refused on 3-Oct-2025). The appeal is to the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA), with case reference PPA-230-2687. The closing date for comments from the public is 24 December 2025.

[Grange PlanningKeymaster]

The appeal against refusal of 25/02258/FUL was dismissed on 17 February 2026.

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