This former Edinburgh music venue where Nirvana played twice is being knocked down to build flats

A former music venue made famous by Nirvana will be knocked down to make way for flats to be built.

Developers Square and Crescent tabled scaled-back plans with Edinburgh City Council to bulldoze the former Studio 24 nightclub and music venue on Calton Road and replace it with 22 flats in a five-storey building as well as an office on the ground floor.

Studio 24 shut its doors after 22 years in June 2017 following renewed complaints from neighbours over noise levels. Under its former name, the Calton Studios, the venue played host to Nirvana in 1990, supported by Glasgow outfit The Vaselines – and again in November 1991. Fellow grunge rockers Mudhoney also took to the stage in 1990 and Smashing Pumpkins performed at the venue in February 1992.

An initial application to turn the venue into 24 flats was refused by the council in March – while a subsequent appeal was dismissed by the Scottish Government due to fears the rear of the development would harm to character of the conservation area by ruining views.

The former Studio 24 venue on Calton Road will be knocked down to make way for flats

Planning officials, who had recommended the scheme for approval, told councillors that the “high build costs” of the site meant that it was “not viable” to provide affordable housing – but developers will hand over funding for other council projects elsewhere in the city. Councillors approved planning permission and conservation area consent to knock down the existing and derelict building.

Planning convener, Cllr Neil Gardiner, said: “It’s welcome to see the building a wee bit lower.

“Obviously, we turned this down previously but this is a new scheme. Although I’m very reluctant to take commuted sums, this site is very small and there isn’t really an option to have social housing.

“I do accept the general point that we must have affordable housing in the city centre as well as anywhere else. The Old Town has always been a mixed community and we need to keep that going and enhance it where we can.”