Empty Edinburgh bank to be transformed into a new coffee shop after Bruntsfield plans approved by council
An empty Edinburgh bank branch will be transformed into a new coffee shop after the Bruntsfield plans were approved by council planners.
Plans submitted by Mr Usman Mohammed in June for the changes to 206 Bruntsfield Place, on the corner with Montpelier Park, were approved on October 3 by the local authority.
It is intended that the premises would be used as a coffee shop catering for sit-in and cold food takeaway customers. There would be no cooking on the premises.
The proposal includes indoor seating for 20-25 customers, as well as pavement seating to the front on Bruntsfield Place for eight customers.
Internal alterations to the ground floor and basement are required to facilitate the change from a bank to a new coffee shop.
Plans for new signage on the unit’s exterior show that this is intended to be a new Black Sheep Coffee branch, with many other branches from this coffee shop chain currently operating in Edinburgh, including two at Princes Street and others at Lothian Road and North Bridge.
In the planning documents, the applicant said: “The proposed use as a coffee shop will enliven this corner frontage and is a use that is promoted by council guidance on such street corner locations. There are numerous examples of such uses in the vicinity and elsewhere.
“The unit is on a prominent corner and the previous use as a bank did not make the most of the dual frontage of the property or the wide area of footway on both frontage elevations.
“The footways in this area are wider than in most parts of the town centre and there are already food and drink uses on opposite corners of this junction with street seating and tables.
“The unit is prominent but under performs in terms of its contribution to the vitality and viability of the town centre.
“In changing the use to a restricted cooking café/restaurant with some outdoor seating this would help to enliven this street frontage in accordance with the aims of the town centre guidance.
“This street corner will be enhanced by the proposed use and there are no development plan policies which guard against such a use in this location.”
Approving the plans, the council’s chief planning officer David Givan said: “The proposal is acceptable in principle, contributing toward the aims of the Marchmont/Bruntsfield Town Centre area. No negative design or heritage impacts are identified, whilst the proposal will preserve the listed building and the conservation area.
“Mitigation of potential amenity impacts is to be secured by condition. The proposal complies with the Development Plan.
“No other material considerations identified outweigh this conclusion. It is therefore recommended that the application is granted.
“This determination does not carry with it any necessary consent or approval for the proposed development under other statutory enactments.”
The proposals received 51 objections on the council’s online planning portal, although these comments still remain private. The applicant now has three years to carry out the transformation of the vacant bank branch in Bruntsfield.