Edinburgh plans to turn Tollcross office into new cafe approved despite six objections from locals
An Edinburgh office is to be transformed into a new cafe after plans were approved, despite six objections from local residents.
Square Bites Limited’s plans to turn the Chinese Welfare Information & Advice Centre at 25 Home Street in Tollcross into a new cafe, were approved on April 23 by the City of Edinburgh Council’s planning department.
The application site is a ground floor commercial unit within a four storey tenement row, with the plans showing no real alterations to the unit, with the new cafe including a seating area at the rear.
Approving the plans, the council’s chief planning officer David Givan said: “The proposal is acceptable and would align with the objectives of relevant policies within the LDP and NPF 4. No material considerations outweigh this conclusion.”
The application received six objections from locals concerned about issues with this application including a fire risk, the over-provision of cafes in the area and a general effect on the community feel of Tollcross.
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One local resident, Iain Black, said: “This is the fourth application for a change of use from Class 1A to Class 3 in this street alone in recent times and if granted will mean two such premises next door to each other, which is ridiculous.
“It makes me despair of the council's intentions for Tollcross/Home Street which will soon be a retail desert with nothing but cheap takeaways. A sad state of affairs for this city centre community where people do still live, despite what feels like the council's efforts to make it suitable only for a transient population!”
While Fiona Allen added: “The entire area from Gilmore Place to Fountainbridge is turning into a wasteground for premises offering services to residents; vape shops, bookmakers, nail bars, hairdressers, overpriced ceramics shops, and far too many bars, restaurants, and food takeaways.
“Any semblance of ‘community’ is being cancelled out by businesses which contribute to public disorder, vomit-stained pavements, and general litter. We in Tollcross have had enough.”
The planning documents show that the applicant’s agent, QB Wood Architects, said in a letter to the council that the new cafe would not use industrial cooking facilities and will only have lighter equipment which “may include a waffle machine, a panini machine, a toastie machine, baked potato oven, soup urn and microwave”. Adding that the applicant would also like to use a caterlite light duty twin tank basket electric fryer at the new cafe.
A condition attached to the approval of this application by the council states: “Cooking, heating and reheating operations on the premises shall be restricted to the use of a Panini machine, toastie machine, baked potato oven, soup urn and one microwave only; no other forms of cooking, heating and reheating shall take place without prior written approval of the Planning Authority.”