Bruntsfield residents have expressed their concern after planning permission was granted on appeal for a previously denied 124-bed student flats development.

A planning application to replace a one and a half storey office, previously used by the charity Sight Scotland with a five-storey, 145-bed block of student flats at 50 Gilliespie Crescent, had previously been rejected in 2024 by both The City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Ministers on appeal.

But, in May 2025, developers S Harrison Developments Ltd lodged a new planning application which was branded by the local residents’ association as “in effect, the same building proposal that was refused permission”.

The new application consists of a 124-bed, five storey block.

While the council once again refused the application in November 2025, the developers once again appealed the decision to The Scottish Ministers.

The Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) upheld the appeal and granted planning permission to S Harrison Developments following amendments to reduce the proposed building size.

Residents in the area, who have long fought against development of the block, have expressed their concern.

Christian Traynor is the acting secretary of the Gillespie Crescent and Community Residents Association. He said that the DPEA’s decision “makes a mockery of the planning system”.

He continued: “It shows that it’s a bunch of formalities that have little effect, and I think that there’s an asymmetry between the communities and the government officials in terms of the power they have.

“Especially at a time when the DPEA are experiencing an overwhelming amount of cases and decisions to be made, it seems like they’ve just rushed this decision to get through a backlog. 

“It doesn’t seem to me to be a sincere decision, and it actually goes very much against the most recent [City of Edinburgh Council] refusal, which was scathing and the majority of it was actually quite negative.

“For the government to then put this through seems to undermine all these important community level and local authority level decision making processes.”

According to Mr Traynor, residents believe that the development would be “inappropriate” for the area, particularly in the significant population increase in the locality with the addition of more than 100 students.

In its refusal in November, council planning officers said in the decision notice that “the proposal would result in the demolition of a building that makes a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the Marchmont, Meadows and Bruntsfield Conservation Area.”

It added that the development would “harm the established “urban grain and character and appearance” of the area, and that there were “no significant public interest advantages of the development”.

Dr Scott Arthur, MP for Edinburgh South West, said the decision “highlights a deeper unfairness in Scotland’s planning system”.

Dr Arthur wrote on social media: “Normally, I believe local communities should have the first and strongest voice in decisions like this. 

“This has been raised before at Holyrood, but proposals to give communities a limited right of appeal were blocked by the SNP and Conservatives.

“It also highlights a deeper unfairness in Scotland’s planning system. 

“Developers have the right to appeal decisions they disagree with, yet local residents and community groups do not have the same right.

“In this case, it was clear to me that this development was not suitable for this location – so I’m very disappointed by today’s decision.”

Gavin Douglas, from S Harrison Limited, said the planning permission gave the company “an increasingly rare Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) opportunity in this part of Edinburgh.”

The block will add to the range of existing PBSA blocks in the Fountainbridge and Bruntsfield areas.

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