Edinburgh housing: Jocks' Lodge student flats approved after developers win appeal

Controversial plans to knock down two pubs and a takeaway for student flats at a historic site in Edinburgh have been approved.

The council refused permission for student accommodation at Jock’s Lodge in June but the decision has been overturned, after a Scottish Government Reporter green-lighted the application on Thursday 14 December.

Now six ‘run down’ commercial units - three of which currently lie empty - will be demolished and replaced with a 191-bed student accommodation block.

The site is currently occupied by the Willow public house, which has relocated to another part of the city, with the owners planning to trade in both locations until redevelopment begins.

Alumno Group said it will construct 'high quality’ purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) on the landmark site, providing a mix of single bedrooms with shared kitchens and

larger studio-style bedrooms along with a ground floor lounge, study, gym, communal spaces and laundry.

Commercial space will occupy the ground floor including a new local food and drink shop, replacing the neighbouring Limelight public house but under the same ownership.

It’s claimed local businesses on the site all agreed to its sale because current facilities were ‘no longer commercially viable’.

The plans sparked a massive community backlash with campaigners warning the development would change the area and ‘gut’ the centre. Proposals which attracted more than 1000 objections were refused by city planners, due to the height of the proposed seven-storey building and fears about the impact on the area.

But developers insist the flats will help meet increasing demand from a growing student population and ‘rejuvenate’ the area.

The site was once home to the original Jock’s Lodge inn, dating back to at least 1650, which was the first stop where the Edinburgh-to-London stagecoach would change horses

Blueprints for the student flats project were revised following a public consultation to reduce the height of the seven-storey building by 4.75 metres in response to concerns raised.

Local SNP councillor Danny Aston said he’s ‘gutted’ the plans have been approved and argues that the concerns about the damage to the local community have not been addressed.

He told the Evening News: “I’m so gutted for the local residents who drove forward the campaign to Save Jock’s Lodge – volunteers who worked tirelessly in the interests of the local community. But most of all, I’m very concerned about the impact of this plan, if built in its present form, on the local community through the damage it will cause to the Jock’s Lodge local centre – the closest thing we have in this area to a high street.

“I find it very hard to see how the Reporter has come to the conclusion that this plan doesn’t harm local retail provision at Jock’s Lodge sufficiently to warrant dismissing the appeal, quite apart from the other issues like the gargantuan size. I am entirely open to having further conversations with the developer, even at this late stage, around any way that their plan can be made more acceptable to my community.”

Alumno Managing Director David Campbell.“We are very pleased with the Reporter’s decision. We are now focused on delivering a development that we believe will contribute to the overall improvement of the local area, and we remain committed to engaging with the community as we move forward.”

“I’d like to thank the local community for their valuable input to date, along with our partners Stantec and Stallan-Brand for their hard work and commitment to the project. It will provide much-need local PBSA and help rejuvenate this historic site economically and socially.”