Hear from candidates for the council elections about their vision for a walkable Edinburgh
Jennifer Melville provides historic examples of the acquisition and enhancement of properties in Scotland by Scots living in the West Indies,
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10 years after we first did it, we will be doing our first ‘classic PoP’ in several years on Saturday 23 April 2022 at 1pm
A day of celebration looking at the life and work of the radical Scottish thinker Sir Patrick Geddes
The Another Edinburgh Is Possible group is holding an online hustings event on Thursday 21st April from 6.30am until 8pm
The Cockburn Association has been consistent in its support for all aspects of the ‘Forth Bridge Experience’
The Cockburn Association has been consistent in its support for all aspects of the ‘Forth Bridge Experience’
The Cockburn Association has been consistent in its support for all aspects of the ‘Forth Bridge Experience’.
We support this LBC application as for the first time in the bridge’s history, the public will be able to access this world-famous structure, to explore its heritage and to access outstanding, world-class views.
Suitable assessments and safeguards must be put in place to secure the bridge’s historic fabric for future generations.
We also support the refreshed proposals are for a a single-storey reception hub to the east of the Forth Bridges which echoes the industrial heritage of the area. But particular care is required to ensure that the stated aim of sympathetically positioning the proposed hub in the existing landscape while minimising the impact on the surrounding environment is achieved.
Proposals for new active travel and accessible access provision require ongoing consultation with appropriate local and amenity stakeholders.
Image taken from Planning Application 22/00358/FUL and copyright remains with the owner
Overall, the Cockburn is strongly supportive of these proposals to bring back to life one of Edinburgh’s most iconic buildings.
Overall, the Cockburn is strongly supportive of these proposals to bring back to life one of Edinburgh’s most iconic buildings.
The Association has studied the plans for the redevelopment of the former Jenner’s Department Store and wishes to give its full support the proposals developed by AAA United A/S with David Chipperfield Architects.
Over the past year, the developers and their professional teams have engaged fully with the Cockburn at all stages and shared their thinking as the proposals emerged. This open, positive and constructive discussion gives us the confidence that scheme proposed is well-considered, sensitive and respectively of this iconic building but also creative and exciting in both ambition and vision.
In terms of use, we are delighted with the retention of retail on basement, ground and first floor levels. The restoration and re-use of the main hall or Grand Saloon as the premier retail space is particularly welcome.
We have no objection to the hotel use, noting the original dormitories for staff in the original building as a possible precedent for this change of use. Again, the proposals are sensitive to the historic fabric and make good use of spaces in more modern interventions. Our one issue here is the use of Rose Street as the main entrance into the hotel with the potential for vehicular conflict on a pedestrian retail and hospitality street. This is not an insurmountable problem but will need special attention.
In terms of elevational treatment, we support the remodelling of the later Princes Street elevation, which will open up the glazing to create a ‘double-height’ shopfront and support the change from a curved to straight window head. Similarly, the major works to the Rose Street building involve the adaption of an already insensitive building thereby improving its presentation to the street. We were particularly impressed by the response by the architects to this part of the development, taking a strong lead from the building itself.
We are confident that the design team will deliver sensitive stonework repairs to the highly decorate facades. In terms of elevational alterations, the most controversial element is the new turret at the corner of Rose Street and South St David Street. This will be highly visible across St Andrew’s Square and nearby environs. Like Historic Environment Scotland, more could have been borrowed from the existing facades, but we have confidence in the architects to prepare a well-proportioned, coherent intervention here.
Overall, the Cockburn is strongly supportive of these proposals to bring back to life one of Edinburgh’s most iconic buildings.
The Cockburn Association supports stakeholders’ objections to the installation of a telephone mast in the Morningside Conservation Area
The Cockburn Association supports stakeholders’ objections to the installation of a telephone mast in the Morningside Conservation Area
The Cockburn OBJECTS to this application.
This application has been brought to the Cockburn’s attention by concerned local stakeholders. The proposed telecommunications equipment would result in excessive visual clutter within the streetscape.
The proposal would have a harmful impact upon the visual quality of the wider street scene and so detract from the amenity and special character of the conservation area and from residential amenity. It is our view that the application is not consistent with Policy Env 6 Conservation Areas – Development as it does not preserve or enhance the special character or appearance of the conservation area.
This application should certainly be refused if it is determined that the benefits of the proposed installation are deemed not to outweigh the harm caused to the conservation area and if there is insufficient evidence that alternative sites or mast sharing opportunities have been adequately explored.
We understand the essential requirement for modern telecommunications infrastructure in our city and its importance to residents. However, we believe that, in consultation with local stakeholders, the proposed apparatus should be located in a more inconspicuous location or disaggregated into smaller, less conspicuous arrays if this is achievable.
The proposed telecommunications equipment would result in excessive visual clutter within the streetscape.
The proposed telecommunications equipment would result in excessive visual clutter within the streetscape.
The Cockburn OBJECTS to this application.
This application has been brought to the Cockburn’s attention by concerned local stakeholders. The proposed telecommunications equipment would result in excessive visual clutter within the streetscape.
The proposal would have a harmful impact upon the visual quality of the wider street scene and so detract from the amenity and special character of the conservation area and from residential amenity. It is our view that the application is not consistent with Policy Env 6 Conservation Areas – Development as it does not preserve or enhance the special character or appearance of the conservation area.
This application should certainly be refused if it is determined that the benefits of the proposed installation are deemed not to outweigh the harm caused to the conservation area and if there is insufficient evidence that alternative sites or mast sharing opportunities have been adequately explored.
We understand the essential requirement for modern telecommunications infrastructure in our city and its importance to residents. However, we believe that, in consultation with local stakeholders, the proposed apparatus should be located in a more inconspicuous location or disaggregated into smaller, less conspicuous arrays if this is achievable.
The Cockburn believes alternative uses should be pursued before a change of use to a hotel is considered. We do not support this application.
The Cockburn believes alternative uses should be pursued before a change of use to a hotel is considered. We do not support this application.
The Association has studied the plans to convert Forth House into an apartment hotel. In examining the plans in detail, we can see some merit in the proposals but believe that alternative uses should be pursued before a change of use to class 7 is considered. As such, we do not support this application.
There are two main components to the site, the listed buildings on Forth Street and the modern intervention in Broughton Street Lane. The useful Heritage Statement makes clear the significant if not total removal of the historic fabric of the Georgian buildings which were essentially gutted in 1970 for a warehouse development. This included the removal of two entrance doors and associated platts on Forth Street.
Forth Street contains a mixture of use comprising mostly residential with small scale commercial/office use which is generally compatible with its domestic scale. Playfair House is a modern 1970s office block with little architectural merit.
Whilst on the face of it an apartment hotel seems a reasonable new use, the immediate area already has a proliferation of hotels and hotel proposals suggesting that it has reached a saturation point for such accommodation. Broughton Street Lane with its very narrow pavements and constrained access points at Union Street and Broughton Street make it unsuitable for any substantive increase in traffic. The proposals suggest all servicing and most customer access will be from the lane, which does not seem appropriate.
With regard to Playfair House, we appreciate the proposals to rework the structure as opposed to complete demolition. However, its scale and form remain alien in this narrow mews lane. The recent housing to the north of the site sits far better in terms of scale and mass. As such, we argue that the existing height of Playfair House should not be taken as the benchmark for new development. Instead, a reinstatement of a mews scale building would offer fair greater potential to preserve and enhance the character of this part of the New Town Conservation Area.
Preferred approach
The Cockburn suggests that a residential approach would be a more suitable us for this site. The loss of historic features and fabric within the listed building provides opportunities for new housing to be inserted creatively to the existing building. The internal reinstatement of individual feus widths on Forth Street with reintroduced entrance platts would enhance the character of the street and Conservation Area and reinforce its domestic use and scale.
There is considerable merit architecturally and in conservation terms for the removal of Playfair House and its replacement with mews buildings of a similar scale to the original buildings to the west and the new dwelling houses to the east.
Given current land values and the demand for housing in the city, such a scheme would be commercially viable and profitable.
