Hotels, Homes and a Changing City

Edinburgh is no stranger to change, but the pace and scale of recent hotel development is beginning to reshape the city. Construction cranes dot the skyline, scaffolding shrouds long-established buildings, and planning applications for visitor accommodation arrive in a steady stream. New facilities extend far beyond the traditional tourist core, often at the expense of communities.

The numbers tell a striking story. Between January and September 2025, roughly £227 million of the £305 million invested in Scotland’s hotel sector went into Edinburgh. That is three-quarters of all hotel investment nationwide, concentrated in a single city. This level of capital flowing into one sector raises questions about housing supply, transport demand, neighbourhood character and the city’s heritage.

Growth in hotel and aparthotel development has real consequences for land use. Sites that might once have supported residential development are increasingly taken up by visitor accommodation. In a city with a publicly declared housing crisis, where affordable homes near public transport, amenities and employment are at a premium, this matters. Pressure on central areas pushes outward, and inner urban neighbourhoods like Leith, Abbeyhill and parts of the Southside already show signs of intensified development interest. Over time, reduced residential capacity in these areas affects both affordability and the mix of housing types in districts further afield.

There is another dimension to this pattern. Local high streets remain essential to how Edinburgh functions, but in some neighbourhoods long-standing community shops are gradually replaced by businesses geared towards short-term visitors. The shift is uneven and varies across districts, yet the cumulative effect undermines the resilience of local retail. Supporting high streets that serve residents year-round should be central to sustainable urban policy.

The Association were guests at the Old Town Residents’ Association Christmas Party this week. It was a warm and welcoming affair, generously catered and full of civic-focused conversation. The longer-standing members lamented the loss of the Old Town’s residential communities. Unable to survive the influx of student accommodation and Air BnBs, the Old Town’s former residents are now scattered across the city. Their fondness for the city’s ancient heart lives on, but the streets are less safe and more anonymous in their absence.

Hotel development, regardless of scale, also adds to the demands on transport and service infrastructure. Increased flows of taxis, deliveries and servicing vehicles contribute to congestion on already busy corridors like London Road, Queensferry Road and routes through the south and west of the city. Planning decisions must therefore account not only for site-specific impacts but also for the cumulative effect of multiple developments across the wider transport network.

Development pressure affects buildings that form the ordinary fabric of Edinburgh too: warehouses, mid-century offices, small cinemas and modest tenements. Although not always listed, these structures contribute to the character of their local areas. Their loss through demolition and replacement erodes the layered quality of the city’s built environment.

The Association’s relationship with hotel development in Edinburgh runs deep. Even during its construction in the early 1900s, we criticised the extension and heightening of the Caledonian Hotel, calling it an “eyesore” that obtruded on the city’s surroundings. Yet in the 1960s, we fought to save it from demolition during the closure of Princes Street Station. This campaign preserved one of the city’s most iconic railway hotels, with its red sandstone façade and commanding position at the west end of Princes Street. The story of the North British Hotel, now the Balmoral, at the opposite end tells a similar tale. When it was built in 1902, the Association was horrified by its scale and criticised its “aggressive bulk” and “general bad taste” as it loomed over the delicate hinge between Old and New Towns. By the 1990s, however, we had come to see this “friendly monster” as worth protecting and campaigned successfully for its Category B listing to shield it from the fate of genuinely uglier additions such as the St James Centre.

These grand railway hotels were not merely buildings. They were bold Victorian and Edwardian statements about ambition, progress and civic pride, bookends to Princes Street that shaped how the city presented itself to arriving visitors. As our recent book Campaigning for Edinburgh: The Cockburn Association 1875–2049 explores, the Association has faced similar battles throughout its 150-year history, from resisting the demolition of the Old Town to fighting elevated motorways through the city. The lessons from those campaigns remain relevant. Adaptive reuse aligns better with Edinburgh’s heritage responsibilities and climate goals, producing lower carbon emissions than full demolition and rebuild while maintaining architectural diversity.

The advantages of hotel investment, including the reuse of under-utilised sites and increased employment opportunities, sit alongside pressures that fall unevenly across the city. Some areas attract significant development interest, while others experience only indirect consequences such as rising rents or increased congestion. This points to the need for Edinburgh to adopt a city-wide, cumulative approach to planning, one that considers long-term implications rather than assessing proposals solely on a site-by-site basis.

What might this look like? Protecting land for residential development, particularly in well-connected urban areas, would be a start. Prioritising the adaptive reuse of existing buildings where feasible recognises both heritage value and carbon-reduction benefits. Planning for Edinburgh’s children to have homes in the city, and for older residents to grow old well. Supporting year-round neighbourhood high streets ensures access to essential local services. Requiring cumulative impact assessments for visitor-accommodation proposals would capture effects on housing, transport, liveability and heritage. Strengthening the city-wide spatial strategy ensures that planning decisions contribute to long-term liveability rather than simply short-term commercial opportunity.

Edinburgh’s distinctiveness, architectural, cultural and social, is central to its success and must be protected through thoughtful planning. Residents across the city, from Drylaw to Portobello and from Muirhouse to Marchmont, experience the consequences of decisions taken today in their housing options, daily travel and neighbourhood services. The Cockburn Association will continue to examine these trends, advocate for balanced development and support planning approaches that respect both the city’s heritage and the needs of its current and future residents.

Further Reading & References

1. Knight Frank: Scottish Hotel Investment Review (Q1–Q3 2025) Source of the “three-quarters of Scottish hotel investment” figure. https://sltn.co.uk/2025/11/20/edinburgh-takes-lions-share-of-2025-scottish-hotel-investment/
2. HVS: Edinburgh Market Pulse 2025 Analysis of hotel-room growth, market performance and underlying sector trends. https://www.hvs.com/article/10230-edinburgh-market-pulse-2025-leading-the-way-from-the-north
3. Campaigning for Edinburgh: The Cockburn Association 1875–2049 Our 150th-anniversary history of civic action in Edinburgh, including past battles over hotels, housing, heritage and liveability – from the fight to save the Caledonian Hotel to debates around the North British and beyond. https://www.cockburnassociation.org.uk/campaigning-for-edinburgh/
4. Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG): Edinburgh 2030 Tourism Strategy The City’s official vision for a more balanced and sustainable tourism economy. https://www.etag.org.uk/edinburgh-2030
5. Travel & Tour World (4 December 2025): Visitor Levy and Affordable Homes How the proposed Visitor Levy could help support delivery of nearly 500 affordable homes. https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/edinburgh-unveils-groundbreaking-visitor-levy-transforming-tourism-revenue-into-nearly-500-new-affordable-homes/

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