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Unite stage public consultation on more Edinburgh student flats

June 27 2014

Unite stage public consultation on more Edinburgh student flats
Student housing developer Unite have staged a public consultation into its £38m development of 579 beds in Edinburgh’s St Leonard’s Street, presently home to a redundant retail unit.

Proposals drawn up by Allan Murray Architects call for the inclusion of a ground floor retail unit or health centre together with an access pend leading to a central courtyard, which could be utilised as a Festival venue.

This will see the street frontage restored with a variegated profile of discrete frontages framing views of a neighbouring church and Salisbury Crags.

Landscape improvements to the 0.7 hectare site will include tree planting, external seating and raised planters together with the introduction of natural stone paving.
 
Developers hope to have the scheme open in time for the 2016 academic year
Developers hope to have the scheme open in time for the 2016 academic year
Views of the Catholic Church of St Margaret’s & St Leonard’s will be gramed by the new infill
Views of the Catholic Church of St Margaret’s & St Leonard’s will be gramed by the new infill

3 Comments

Egbert
#1 Posted by Egbert on 1 Jul 2014 at 08:56 AM
I'm not a fan of Unite - they've been responsible for a rash of horrors across the UK that I suspect wouldn't have made it through Planning had the student resi sector not been the only game in town during the post-crash years, and their over-priced flats represent pretty poor value-for-money for our debt-laden students. That said this looks like a decent piece of infill in an area crying out for some townscape repair, and might ease pressure on the overheated private rental sector in this part of Edinburgh. Cautious welcome then.
Uduku
#2 Posted by Uduku on 1 Jul 2014 at 13:58 PM
I live round the corner from this proposal. whilst I will miss the convenience of the current DIY retail store, it is true that the frontage at present is awful and the proposal though bland will offer more to the St Leonards street scape. Also the proposal to centre the student housing on an oxbridge type Quad is no bad thing (keeps them and any noise well away from local residents). The council clearly as usual also benefits from summer festival accommodation and yet another overpriced fringe venue... It would have been great though if some of the units were to allow for affordable housing which is clearly in need in this neighbourhood - but this would be asking for a miracle.... (therefore qualified 'like')
JohnMF
#3 Posted by JohnMF on 2 Jul 2014 at 19:37 PM
Unite is well aware of the guidance on the density of student population in the community, CEC Planning Dept is well aware of (their own) guidance on the density of student population in the community. And yet, Unite persists with this application, which CEC Planning should reject according to their guidance. Will they? Let's see!

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