Sugarhouse Close development to go ahead

Oberlanders Architects LLP have secured planning consent under delegated powers for a mixed use £15m development including 300 bed student accommodation for Watkin Jones and Sons Ltd, on a sensitive site embedded in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Located within the Edinburgh World Heritage Site and accessed from the Royal Mile, the proposal was one of the first Major Project planning applications to be processed through the new Planning Scotland Act Community Engagement and Consultation process.

Oberlanders engaged with the Edinburgh Urban Design Panel, Historic Scotland, The Cockburn Association, local councillors and residents through a series of site visits and presentations.

The process led to a positive outcome of encouragement and support allowing the major application to be approved under Delegated powers.

This outcome is testament to positive engagement with local people and interested parties (of which there are many within Edinburgh’s Old Town), together with pro-active and constructive dialogue with City of Edinburgh Council planning officials.”

The City of Edinburgh Council Planning Report stated: ‘The design of the site shows an excellent understanding of the historical development of the area and the buildings on the site. This has allowed the architects to create a scheme which is both sympathetic and dynamic, creating high quality urban design and architecture’

The location takes its name from sugar refining which began on site in 1752. From 1868 it became home to the local Holyrood brewing industry which continued on site to the end of the 20th Century, latterly as an experimental brewing laboratory. The design proposals retain a number of Listed buildings within the heart of the site which are made visible from a new Courtyard and Close, unlocking key routes and unseen vistas from The Royal Mile and Holyrood Road towards the historic Brewhouses and Kilns.

Site start is December 2010 with completion in July 2012.