Hotel group De Vere are offering local residents an opportunity to see plans and to comment on proposals for a new ‘village urban resort’ at Crewe Toll.
De Vere will be holding two public consultation events on the proposals in advance of submitting a formal planning application. These will be held at the Morrisons store on Pilton Drive from 1400 until 1800 on Friday 7 September and at Helix House itself between 1000 and 1300 on Saturday 8 September.
Last week, plans were unveiled for a new £20m hotel with business and leisure facilities on the site of the empty office building at Crewe Toll – which will create approximately 130 new jobs.
Earlier this year the De Vere Group unveiled plans to open 15 new Village Urban Resorts to add to the existing two dozen it successfully operates across the UK. The North Edinburgh proposal includes a 120 bedroom hotel, a health and fitness club (including a 20m indoor pool); business and conference facilities; a restaurant, bar; and a Starbucks Coffee House.
Robert Cook, Chief Executive of De Vere Village Urban Resorts said: “De Vere is delighted to announce the selection of Edinburgh as a location for a new Village Urban Resort. Edinburgh is a high priority location for us and we are very excited to be bringing this concept to the city.
“The selected site is prominently located in north Edinburgh – the redundant office building on site, Helix House, has been vacant for many years and is becoming something of an eyesore. Our new Edinburgh Village Urban Resort will be a positive landmark building in this prominent location.”
A customer and guest car parking area with 270 car parking spaces will also be included within the development.
Ian Kettlewell, Associate Director at national planning consultancy Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners, which is guiding the scheme through the planning process, said: “This exciting new development will regenerate an important and prominent site; removing a building which has been vacant for a number of years. The new Village Urban Resort will create 120 new jobs, which will be accessible to local residents, offering significant training opportunities and provide a boost to the local economy, as well as further jobs during the construction phase. This development will not just provide a hotel for visitors to Edinburgh, De Vere Village Urban Resorts are high quality, attractive leisure destinations for business users, leisure travellers and the local community.”
The site is located on a major route in north Edinburgh with good linkages to Leith and the city centre and as such the urban resort will benefit from excellent transport links by public transport, car, cycle and on foot.
Areas of public realm comprising high quality hard and soft landscaping will be provided, along with clearly-demarcated pedestrian walkways to ensure safe and easy movement onto, and throughout, the development.
Should planning permission be granted, it is anticipated that construction would start next year with the new De Vere Village Urban Resort opening to the public in 2014.
Those pre-planning application public consultation details again: Morrisons store on Pilton Drive from 2 – 6pm this Friday (7 September) and at Helix House itself between 10am and 1pm on Saturday (8 September).
De Vere are keen to raise awareness of its plans and provide an opportunity for public comments.
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