Edinburgh wellness centre to be turned into a new shop after charity's Leith Walk plans approved
Change of use plans for Leith shop unit approved
An Edinburgh wellness centre is set to be turned into a new shop after a charity's plans were approved by council planners.
Trauma-informed health and wellbeing charity LinkLiving applied for a change of use application in July to turn 378 Leith Walk into a shop, which was accepted by the local authority on October 8.
The application site is a basement and ground floor commercial unit in a three-storey tenement row on the corner with Middlefield, with the unit most recently occupied by wellness centre Marpole Retreats, offering pilates and yoga classes, believed to have closed earlier this year.
It is unclear what exactly the charity proposes for the unit, whether it will be a charity shop or a drop-in centre, with an attempt made to contact LinkLiving for comment. The approved application does not propose any external changes to the shop front.
However, the planning documents show changes inside the unit, including a platform lift installation linking the basement and ground floors, the replacement of existing electrics, new double doors, extended chip wood flooring, and a new ceiling mounted extractor fan in the toilets.
The council’s chief planning officer David Givan said: “The introduction of a shop would strengthen the retail offering in the area, compliment the existing mixed-use nature of the locus and would create greater vitality and vibrancy.
“The application would comply with NPF4 and LDP policies in that it would not have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the application site, the conservation area and would not have a detrimental impact on amenity.
“Identified material considerations have been assessed and do not raise issues which outweigh the conclusion in relation to the Development Plan.
“The proposal is acceptable. No material considerations outweigh this conclusion.”
Although no major conditions were attached to approval for the Leith Walk plans, four ‘informatives’ were added.
These included that no development shall take place on the site until a 'Notice of Initiation of Development' has been submitted to the council stating the intended date on which the development is to commence.
The applicant must also comply with noise and insulation informatives, while a notice of completion must be submitted to the council when work to facilitate the change of use is completed.
LinkLiving now has three years to begin work at 378 Leith Walk to carry out the change of use for this approved application, which received no public comments on the online planning portal.
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