New Town Quarter planning application submitted

Ediston, for owners Orion Capital Managers, have submitted a planning application for what is the largest city centre development in decades.

The brownfield site is now called New Town Quarter, previously called New Town North. It will be created from the building which was occupied by RBS at the foot of Dundas Street, and a massive 5.9 acre site where one of the oldest city football pitches used to be, home to St Bernard’s Football Club. The plans are for the site to become home to a new hotel, houses and office space.

There has already been consultation with three public exhibitions. In response the plans were altered by reducing the number of floors from eight to seven, consequently reducing the number of residential units. New images were released in April this year when the third consultation was held. The developers say they have carefully responded to the issues and concerns raised by locals, particularly in relation to green space. Additional green space has been created in the development and Ediston say it will be increased on existing by 25%. There will be 164 car parking spaces and 700 cycle parking spaces, with priority given to walking through the site.

Most recent comments from the New Town and Broughton Community Council earlier this year included mention of the proposed height of the building on the corner of Fettes Row and Dundas Street which they think is ‘substantially higher than those of other parts’.

The developers say that their research shows the development will bring significant economic benefit to the area.The Waterman Group study shows that there would be 700 full time jobs created in the development when it is up and running, with £34.4 million of economic uplift brought to the Edinburgh economy. During construction there would be 60 full time jobs created and it would create £27.7million Gross Added Value in the local area for businesses like cafés and hairdressers.

Ross McNulty, Development Director at Ediston said: “We firmly believe that now is the right time to move forward with our proposals and deliver further significant investment in the heart of the nation’s capital. We have worked hard with key stakeholders and the local community to deliver proposals that are consistent with planning policies and our aspirations to create a new high-quality addition to the local area and the city.

“I would like to thank all of the organisations and residents who gave their time and feedback to the consultation process. It has made a huge contribution to refining and improving the proposals. This is a large and complex site, and we wanted to take the time to get it right”. 

He added: “Our proposals for New Town Quarter will help speed economic recovery in Edinburgh. Research highlights the significant investment benefits that this high-quality development would bring to the Edinburgh economy, as well as helping to meet the pressing need for high quality new homes and office space.”

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