Plans approved to demolish Edinburgh church and build 35 flats despite 54 objections from Moredun residents
Plans have been approved to demolish an Edinburgh church and build 35 flats, despite 54 objections from local residents
The plans by Cruden Partnership Limited, originally lodged in October last year, to demolish the former St John Vianneys RC Church at 40 Fernieside Gardens in Moredun to make way for the two new four-storey blocks of flats, were approved by the council on November 27.
As part of the approval, a number of conditions were added, including Cruden paying total developer contributions of £281,565 towards local education and healthcare capacity.
One condition for approval includes a stipulation that a total of 12 of the 35 flats, 35 per cent, should be ‘affordable’.
Approving the plans, the council's chief planning officer David Givan said: “The proposals are in accordance with the Development Plan subject to conditions and the mitigation of impacts on infrastructure by the securing of financial contributions via a legal agreement.
“There are no compelling material considerations for not approving them. This determination does not carry with it any necessary consent or approval for the proposed development under other statutory enactments.”
Broken down, the developer contributions amount to £133,326 (18 x £7,407) towards additional primary school capacity, £89,352 (18 x £4,964) towards additional secondary school capacity, and £58,887.15 (35 x £1,682.49) towards additional healthcare capacity.
No development shall commence until full landscape information, including details of visitor cycle parking, all hard and soft surface materials, boundary treatments, planting, implementation and maintenance, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority.
No development shall commence until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work. And, prior to the commencement of construction works on site, a detailed specification, including trade names where appropriate, of all proposed external building materials shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority.
The application received 54 objections from local residents, with reasons for objecting including the design, density, siting and impact on the character and appearance of the surroundings.
As well as environmental considerations - including ecological interests and air quality - flooding and drainage considerations, impact on neighbour amenity by way of sunlight / daylight impediment, noise, privacy, and immediate outlook, and the impact on infrastructure such as education and healthcare.
There were also concerns raised about the loss of the church and hall, the quantity and quality of private amenity space, and transport, parking, and access arrangements.
One of the objectors, local resident Tomislav Bonev, said: “The planned density for this development is excessive. Accommodating approximately 60 residents in such a small area is disproportionate and incompatible with the neighbourhood's current character. This will create overcrowding and strain the limited space available.
“Unlike the previous church property, which had minimal and infrequently used windows, the proposed apartments will directly overlook existing properties and gardens. This intrusion will severely compromise residents' privacy, particularly due to the height of the blocks allowing direct views between upper-floor windows.
“Local services as such are already under significant pressure, with long waits for appointments and limited capacity. Adding 50+ new residents will exacerbate this situation, negatively impacting both current and incoming residents' access to essential services.
“The loss of the church represents a significant reduction in community resources. The nearest Catholic church is a 35-minute walk for a fit individual, much longer for the elderly or less mobile. This distances residents from a critical community and spiritual hub.”
In the applicant’s design statement, Cruden said: “The proposed demolition of the existing vacant church and associated outbuildings offers the opportunity to re-use a brownfield site inline with NPF4 policy 9 promoting the approach to reduce the need for greenfield development.
“A key driver of the proposal is to facilitate the delivery of more high quality, affordable and sustainable homes on a site that is located at the heart of a local community, well situated within a 20-minute neighbourhood.
“The design combines complementary contextual and contrasting design which aims to enhance the character of the local area. The design approach prioritises medium density in keeping with examples in the wider area.
“The proposal benefits from an extremely generous amount of open and amenity space. It is proposed to maintain and expand the shared garden space within the development site.”
The church building was built in 1952 and is predominately of red brick, in keeping with the surrounding houses which are either red brick or dark render. A number of extensions to the church have been implemented over the years.
The separate rendered hall and a car park sits to its rear with any land outwith these built features generally being grass. The site slopes down from the southeast to the northwest but the gradient is steeper to the site’s southeastern side
The two new blocks of flats would also be ‘warm red’ in colour to cross reference the brick widely used locally. While, a tiled roof is proposed to the street frontage to provide continuity with the adjacent properties.
Block A will front Fernieside Gardens and house nine one-bed flats, five two-bed flats and three three-bed flats. Block B will sit to its rear and house eight one-bed flats, six two-bed flats and four three-bed flats.
Each are predominantly four-storey, except for a three-storey pitched tiled roof section to the Fernieside Gardens elevation of Block A and a three-storey flat roof section to the northeast elevation of Block B.
The applicant now has three years to begin redevelopment work at 40 Fernieside Gardens to demolish the church and build the two new blocks of flats.