Edinburgh planning: Go-ahead for new hotel and pod hotel in former Debenhams store on Princes Street

Planning officials recommended approval for the planning application for a “hotel and pod hotel” at 109-112 Princes Street and 144-150 Rose Street. The development will include 328 bedrooms plus 345 “capsules” or pods. Councillors granted planning permission without discussion.

A previous scheme for a 210-bedroom up-market hotel fell through last year, but now the nine-floor building is set to be turned into a first hotel in Scotland for the Zedwell chain.

Debenhams in Princes Street has stood empty for three years. Plans for a 210-bedroom upmarket hotel fell through last year, but the store is now due to be converted into a first hotel in Scotland for luxury brand Zedwell. | Lisa Ferguson

The parent company Criterion Capital, headed by billionaire investor Asif Aziz, bought the Debenhams building - which has been vacant since the company closed down in May 2021 - for an undisclosed sum. There are already three Zedwell hotels in London, with one due to open in Manchester in 2026.

Mr Asif said last year that Edinburgh’s rich history, cultural significance and strong tourism sector made it an ideal location for Zedwell.

The report for this week’s meeting of the council’s development control sub-committee said the new scheme would deliver “a sustainable and well-designed development”.

The main part of the former department store is at 112 Princes Street, which was originally the Conservative Club, dating from 1882-4. An arcaded stair and stained-glass windows from that time survive, but were relocated within the building.

The former store also occupies most of the neighbouring building - but not the ground floor - at 109, 110 and 111 Princes Street which was the Palace Hotel in 1869 and later became the Liberal Club. And the store also took in the basement, ground and first floors of 144-150 Rose Street.

The planning report said: “Only parts of the original façade and interior remain of this category B listed building (112 Princes Street). The entire structure behind the façade was demolished in the late 1970s, significantly reducing the building's historic and architectural integrity. The replacement concrete structure is functional in design with misaligned floors to the façade windows.”

The report said the alterations required for the new hotel were much less extensive than in the previous hotel proposal, noting that “the new occupier's hotel/hostel model is fitting to the main building's current state”.

It continued: “Most bedrooms will comprise windowless cocoon-type rooms which, along with the capsule beds in dormitories, are well suited to the extensive areas of dark floorplates within no. 112 and the associated partitioning will only affect featureless areas of the modern concrete structure.

“In contrast, the ‘crib’ rooms (standard bedrooms) will be located immediately behind the Princes Street façade and in variety of sizes to fit with the existing window arrangement. The proposed hotel use will allow all historic windows to be used for their original intended purpose, as many had been blanked off internally to accommodate shop fittings.”

A retail unit will be formed at ground floor level within 144-150 Rose Street.