Edinburgh housing: Anger over approved plans for homes 'flipped' for student accommodation bid

Student beds plans put forward after homes already approved ‘defies belief’.

Approved plans for homes on the site of a demolished pub in Edinburgh have been ‘flipped’, after developers put forward plans to build student accommodation instead.

Proposals for a “crescent-style” block of 48 flats on the corner of Northfield Drive and Willowbrae Road were given consent in September, four years after the former Radical Road bar was demolished to make way for a housing project. But new proposals have been submitted by a property developer superseding consented plans for a mix of one, two and three bedroom flats with an application to build 138 student beds.

83S Student Residence Limited submitted a planning application on November 23 to build student flats on the empty lot, including a ground-floor commercial space, bike hub and communal lounge. The block would extend to a lower ground floor and amenity area to the rear, accessible by a ramp.

The former Radical Road pub was demolished

The site has been subject to several planning applications which have either been thrown out or abandoned. An application for student housing at the site next door was refused on the grounds that it wasn’t suitable.

Local SNP councillor Danny Aston said: “The planning committee met and recognised that this is a good place for residential development – they approved 48 much needed homes here, with a quarter of them affordable. We have thousands of homeless families in this city. So, coming straight after Edinburgh Council declaring a housing emergency, this attempt now to flip the site to student accommodation is a real slap in the face.

“There was a previous application on the site next door which was refused in 2017 on the grounds that the public transport links to university campuses aren’t good enough to justify the building of student accommodation here. Nothing in that respect has changed. I’ll be objecting to this and encouraging others to do likewise.”

MP for Edinburgh East Tommy Sheppard added: “The site’s been lying empty for years since the Radical Road was demolished and so the proposal to build homes here was welcome. It defies belief that despite having a workable proposal to build homes, this developer is focused completely on their profit margin and is planning to pack in students like sardines in can instead. This while the city experiences a housing emergency.

“It’s disappointing as well that the developer hasn’t bothered to consult the local community in advance of this application. Were they worried about the response they’d receive?”

The company and One Foot Square Architecture and Design said they will retain the distinctive ‘crescent’ design on the proposed student flats development. In a statement, the applicant wrote: "The proposed Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) application has adopted the design framework and essence of the consented scheme which was considered acceptable in terms of design, scale, height and density. The building’s crescent pattern closely follows the line of the street, but is set back with a margin of enclosed spaces forming a buffer between the building and the pavement. This buffer continues as a light well to the north of the building providing daylight to these studios at Lower Ground Floor level."

Developers have been contacted for comment.