The University of Edinburgh has ended its involvement in controversial plans to build student flats on Leith Walk, delivering a major blow to developer Drum Property Group’s controversial plans for the area.
The decision was prompted by fears among senior University staff that Drum had failed to address concerns of the community and City of Edinburgh Council that the development would have a negative impact on Leith.
The University finally decided to pull the plug when Drum lodged an appeal earlier this month against the council’s rejection of its plans.
At a hearing in January, the council refused unanimously Drum’s application to demolish a sandstone block of shops and offices in a conservation area to build student accommodation and a hotel.
The council listed eight reasons why the proposals for Stead’s Place, at the foot of Leith Walk, breached planning regulations, including that the ‘sandstone building makes a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area and the design of the proposed replacement building does not outweigh the loss of the existing building.’
It is understood that the University wanted Drum to come up with alternative proposals for the site and to listen to the community. Drum’s failure to do this, and its decision to appeal, prompted the University to sever ties with the discredited scheme.
A spokesman for the Save Leith Walk campaign said: “We are surprised that the University of Edinburgh has terminated its partnership arrangement with Drum Property Group to build student accommodation in Stead’s Place, Leith Walk.
“We appreciate that the University of Edinburgh have finally acknowledged the concerns of our community. Unfortunately, this has come too late for many of the local businesses in Stead’s Place that have been forced to close.
“Save Leith Walk has been working to build community involvement in development decisions and we would appeal to property developers, student accommodation providers and other developers to put community consultation at the heart of their design process and not simply as a response to planning requirements.”
Drum is continuing to clear the Stead’s Place building of its remaining tenants: Leith Walk Cafe, Cassia cafe and the Leith Depot bar and live music venue are all that remain of the 40 shops and businesses that recently occupied the two-storey block.
Save Leith Walk has gathered almost 6,000 signatures on a petition urging Drum to reopen boarded up shops and halt its plan to kick out the remaining tenants in the coming months.
Drum Property Group will press on with revised plans, however. Drum MD Graeme Bone said: “Since purchasing the Stead’s Place site in 2017, we have been delighted with the high levels of interest in the innovative student and hotel elements of our proposals from a range of potential operators, including the University of Edinburgh.
““We are close to selecting our preferred operating partner for what will be a game-changing and vibrant mixed-use development and will make a further announcement when those discussions have concluded.”
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