The council has granted planning permission to S1 Developments for the St Joseph’s Nursing Home site at Gilmore Place.
This was granted unanimously today following considerable discussion at last week’s meeting by councillors.
Then the planning officers presented a detailed outline of the plans for demolition of extensions and outbuildings, replacing them with three storey accommodation around a courtyard. Councillors decided then to continue the case till this week to allow for more information about the make up of the community.
Cllr Jo Mowat asked for more data, particularly about the claims around transient residents. She said: “I was concerned when I read the report and heard the presentation that we seem to have very few figures in it. We have this assertion that this is a very diverse highly residential population that is not particularly transient, but we have no figures backing that up. This is an area I know reasonably well and there are a lot of doorways that do belong to a transient population. You know this as there are no numbers or names on doors. So I wonder how you back that up as there is nothing in the report or presentation that backs this up. It’s not how I would characterise it as the local councillor.”
Today, the committee voted in favour of a 230-bed student scheme, with 29 cluster flats, on the former Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home site. This C-listed main building includes a chapel.
Communal facilities will be installed in the retained and refurbished chapel, while existing east and west outbuildings and extensions will be demolished and replaced with new three storey accommodation around a retained landscaped courtyard. These buildings will be of high-quality stone and zinc and this will be a predominantly car free development with provision for 230 cycle parking spaces.
The proposal ensures an effective new use for a unique listed building and its grounds whilst causing the least possible harm.
The developers say that creating another care home on this site was not considered suitable for modern requirements, and upgrades to meet Care Commission standards were prohibitively expensive. Turning this into housing was severely constrained by a number of factors including access constraints and the layout of the site.
The introduction of new build elements in order to deliver a viable proposal will mean a 4 per cent increase in the current building footprint, while the delivery of a courtyard will mean a 12 per cent increase in green space.
The site is in an accessible location and close to university facilities. Provision of new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) will support the growth and development of the higher education sector in Edinburgh. In doing so it will increase the range and choice of accommodation offered to students.
The developers also point out that the current ratio of approximately three students per one bed space in Edinburgh, demonstrates the demand for new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).
A spokesperson for S1 Developments, said: “I’m delighted with the decision taken today by councillors. As an Edinburgh-based family company, we are thrilled to see this exciting project given the green light and look forward to breathing new life into this former nursing home.
“Redevelopment will restore the existing care-home building into high quality student accommodation, allowing the retention of the central chapel in its existing form.
“We look forward to getting these proposals underway and to continue working with council officials and the local community to deliver them.”
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