29-04-2025
New plans for former Edinburgh law building to be demolished for student flats
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New plans to demolish a former Edinburgh law building for student flats are to be submitted after previous proposals were unsuccessful.
In June 2024 the Development Management Sub Committee refused permission for 174 student beds at 140 Causewayside, the former Scottish Law Commission building.
Despite council planning officers recommending approval, the development was refused permission and a subsequent appeal was dismissed by the Scottish Government.
According to the council, the block of flats would have had an "adverse impact on the setting of the adjacent listed tenement" as well as resulting in an "excessive concentration of student accommodation."
The decision notice added: "The proposals have failed to demonstrate that the existing building cannot be reused contrary to NPF 4 Policy 9.5. The proposals fail to deliver the provision of outdoor space with access for all.
"The proposed development will have an adverse impact on amenity of adjacent residents and future occupiers."
Despite the refusal, Balfour Beatty Investments has submitted a pre-application notice to the council for the demolition of the existing building and erection of purpose-build student accommodation with associated works.
More details on the number of beds and alterations to the previous application are expected in the coming months.
The rejected application would have resulted in 174 student bedrooms rooms in total. The accommodation included six cluster flats, each containing six, eight or nine bedrooms with shared kitchen/ lounge facilities providing 48 bed spaces (28 per cent) and 126 studio rooms (72 per cent) of which nine will be accessible studio rooms.
Internal amenity space was proposed including an informal communal lounge area at ground floor level which would have faced onto the principal Causewayside street frontage.
Additional communal amenity space is provided at lower ground floor level, comprising of a general amenity space and quiet study area, which was also included in the proposals.
