Fresh plans for Stead's Place development off Leith Walk available for online public viewing this week

A public online exhibition on the latest Stead’s Place plans will be launched from noon on Thursday and people will be able to see how the proposed redevelopment might look.

In 2018, Drum Property Group submitted a controversial £50 million plan to demolish the 2.9-acre site by Leith Walk, and build in its place a hotel, student accommodation and residential flats.

Local residents and business owners strongly opposed the proposals, which would have seen Leith Walk’s red sandstone shopping strip reduced to rubble, and in 2019 both Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish Government threw out the plans.

But Drum Property Group submitted an outline of their latest proposals - prior to a full application being lodged with the council - earlier this year and they want to retain and refurbish the sandstone building to be “made available for a range of commercial uses.”

A Drum Property spokesperson said the aim would be to attract a range of independent businesses similar to those in Leith Walk.

Existing industrial units located directly behind Leith Walk would be demolished and replaced with a new “homes-led landscaped development” linking to Pilrig Park. The proposals are for a community of high quality apartments designed for renting, catering for local people at rent levels which correspond to the Leith area – and student accommodation has been ruled out.

Graeme Bone, group managing director of Drum Property Group, said: “We remain 100 percent committed to investing in and improving the whole Stead’s Place site, and are looking forward to this next stage of planning consultation.

"We received positive feedback from our last public consultation in July which has contributed to our revised proposals. This includes retaining and refurbishing the two-storey sandstone building to ensure that, once again, it plays an important role in the future of the Leith Walk community.

"The rest of the site will be designated to provide much needed local housing. This will open up what is currently an inhospitable industrial site by creating an accessible living environment linked through landscaped walkways and cycle routes to Pilrig Park and the rest of the city.”

The Stead’s Place site has been earmarked for development by Edinburgh City Council since 2008.

The local authority’s planning officers recommended Drum Property’s revised plans for the site for approval in early 2019 but the application was refused by the planning committee.

An appeal was lodged with the Scottish Government in May last year but this was not upheld.

An initial public online exhibition event for new plans took place in July and the second consultation event will be launched this Thursday, November 5.

The latest interactive exhibition will allow people to view updated proposals to the Stead’s Place site and email any questions to the Drum Property design team up until 8pm that day, as well as submitting formal feedback online.

Anyone wanting to comment on the revised proposals can do so via the website or by emailing [email protected] no later than November 19.

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