The fight to save the Earthy building on Canonmills Bridge is not over yet, campaigners have said.
The Save 1-6 Canonmills Bridge campaigners said they will continue to fight moves to demolish Earthy and replace it with flats and a restaurant. They still believe they have a strong case to fight the redevelopment when it emerged that a planning document showed a key element of their opponents’ case had fallen.
The campaigners maintain that developer Glovart Investments missed a three-year deadline to start work on-site that began when planning permission for the development was granted in 2013. They say that on the day before planning permission was due to lapse the developers had installed a dropped kerb at the site – the only physical work undertaken there.
City council planners responded: ‘Agents acting on behalf of the applicant have submitted information as part of their notification of commencement of material operations that the vehicular access was formed on 10 June 2013 and that the kerb was dropped on 7 May 2016. Council officers initial view was that on the balance of probabilities that a material operation had been carried out, prior to consent expiring, meaning that the express grant of planning permission is capable of implementation.’
The council also sought legal advice and this has backed the planners’ decision to allow the redevelopment to go ahead. In a lengthy response Counsel concluded: ‘On this basis, it is safe to conclude on the balance of probabilities that a material operation has been carried out meaning that the express grant of planning permission is capable of implementation.’
The campaigners said they still believe that a dropped kerb not enough to warrant a go-ahead and look set to raise a further challenge.
In a statement on their Facebook page, the Canonmills campaigners said: “We are disappointed with the ruling, and find it incredible that the decision of Counsel ultimately rests on a dropped kerb, constructed on Sunday 7th May as a means of initiating planning permission before it expired the following day.
2We question the interpretation of the legislation and won’t let this drop. In this, and in other ways, we are continuing to push for a better outcome for the site. We remain hopeful.” 
<3 1-6 Canonmills Bridge
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