Victorian engine shed in Leith earmarked for serviced apartments
Run-down engine shed targeted for short-stay apartment conversion
A dilapidated Victorian engine shed that is one of the last visible remnants of a historic Leith goods station could be given a new lease of life as serviced apartments.
R1 Properties Group LTD is hoping to complete the conversion of the disused former engine shed, which served Leith North Goods Station, at 102 Ocean Drive, next to Ocean Terminal shopping centre.
It has applied to the council’s planning department for a change of use from storage to serviced apartments, with the plans including existing roof lights being removed and replaced with new dormers to front and rear, as well as replacing existing doors with new doors and windows.
The plans for the old worn-down building at the corner of Ocean Drive and Melrose Drive include retaining the external brick piers and the two engine doors, as well as adding five new openings, all of which follow the form of the original doors.
These will be in-fllled with standing seam zinc panels, windows and painted timber doors. The remaining three walls will remain unaffected.
If the proposals are approved, the roof will be renewed and re-slated to match the original, with four standing seam zinc-clad dormers on each side.
In the planning documents, the applicant’s agent Johnston Harris Architects, said: “The proposed conversion will retain and reuse the last remaining part of the Leith North Goods Station, thereby contributing to the character of the Leith Docks area.
“The application site is located on a busy junction with good transport links. Therefore the use of the building as serviced apartments is compatible with the surrounding commercial uses, such as hotel and shopping centre.
“Due to the frequency of movement generated by the surrounding uses and public transport links, the level of noise generated by the serviced apartments will be at an acceptable level for nearby residents.”
Due to the proximity and potential for overlooking to/from the neighbouring development at Portland Gardens, the plans show that all windows on the rear roof will have obscured glass to maintain privacy.
Internally, all bedrooms and living rooms will be located at the front, so that these rooms receive good levels of natural light, avoid overlooking, and to reduce any noise interference with nearby residents. The rear dormers only serve bathrooms.
The agent added: “Locating the living rooms and bedrooms on the front elevation, and including measures such as privacy film on the rear windows and roof lights, protects the amenity for the occupants of both the serviced apartments and the neighbouring Portland Gardens flats.”
The council will now decide upon this application, which has so far received two private objections on the online planning portal.
The site was originally constructed as an engine shed for the Caledonian Railways Leith North Goods Station, which was built in 1864. There are no records of when the engine shed itself was built, though it first appears on the 1894 Ordnance Survey map.
Following the closure of the station to passengers in 1962, the station continued as a goods station for a few years and thereafter for various commercial uses. The station building was demolished around 2003 when the surrounding land was redeveloped.
For the latest public notices from your area, please visit: https://publicnoticeportal.uk/