Drum Property Group has welcomed the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) officers’ recommendation to approve the developer’s plans to transform a major section of Leith Walk, Edinburgh.
The CEC officers’ report has just been published in advance of next week’s meeting of the council’s development management sub-committee when councillors will discuss Drum’s planning application for the 2.9 acre Stead’s Place site, near the foot of Leith Walk.
Graeme Bone, Group Managing Director of Drum said: “We welcome the clarity of the officers’ recommendation which recognises the clear and unambiguous fact that we are responding appropriately to the existing council brief for the area’s redevelopment. We also welcome the strong support that our proposals have received from the community and local businesses throughout the planning process.
“This has been a rigorous and robust process resulting in a positive recommendation for approval. The wider Stead’s Place area is a neglected industrial site that has been earmarked for development by the council since 2008. For the past eighteen months, we have worked closely with the council, the local community and many groups, businesses and organisations to address the urgent need to bring new investment, connectivity and life back to this hugely important part of Leith Walk and the wider Pilrig area.
“We have significantly revised our plans following feedback from the council and the local community and now have a design which has been rightly recognised by officers as one that is both appropriate for the area and that meets the council’s stated aspiration for the site – as well as receiving high levels of public support.
“Our proposals bring an added dimension to Leith Walk, opening up what is currently an inhospitable industrial site by creating a vibrant, contemporary and accessible community for residents, business and visitors alike. Given there are no valid planning reasons to oppose the proposals, we trust that the elected members will now share the view of their officers and give the green light to this major transformational investment opportunity for Leith Walk and the rest of the city.”
Drum’s £50 million proposal for the 2.9-acre Stead’s Place site is for a mixed-used scheme combining high quality, affordable housing for local people and post-graduate student accommodation, as well as a hotel, restaurant, café and retail units but it has drawn much opposition from the Save Leith Walk group.
Drum submitted revised proposals for its Stead’s Place application at the beginning of December 2018, reducing the Leith Walk elevation by one storey to keep the building in line with the surrounding tenement buildings.
The revised proposals, which followed detailed discussions with the University of Edinburgh and the City of Edinburgh Council’s planning team, also included a more defined and distinct row of sandstone retail units facing on to Leith Walk as well as increased provision for cyclists and pedestrians.
This was still not enough for Save Leith Walk who regard it as scandalous that the red sandstone building will be lost. They will speak for five minutes at the meeting next week as allowed by council procedures. We are sure they will have a suitable response to the news and we will publish it later when we have it.
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