Eyre Place Townhouses

Posted on: October 13, 2023

The revised application looks more like sporadic urban development than placemaking

The revised application looks more like sporadic urban development than placemaking

Cockburn Response

The original proposal for this site consisted of 9 townhouses, now reduced to 7.

The Cockburn now objects to this application,.Townhouses may be acceptable on this site.  But the revised application looks more like sporadic urban development rather than carefully considered placemaking

We  also reiterate our comments made regarding the earlier application:

We accept that townhouses may be appropriate for this location.

However, the current proposals require revision. In particular, the urban form and disposition of adjacent properties on Eyre Place Lane should be respected.  This specifically includes a more sympathetic response to varying ground levels on the site.

In addition, the stepped access to the proposed townhouses seems inconsistent with the principles of today’s accessibility requirements and aspirations for residential properties. Such access restricts their suitability to potential residents.

We have  also been alerted to detailed observations and comments  which have been made by local residents concerning both this development and a related proposal for student accommodation  on Eyre Place. These detailed observations require full consideration by planning officers.

Further Details Here

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Sibbald Walk

Posted on: September 13, 2023

Student accommodation may be acceptable on this site. but only as part of a part of a mixed-use development which conforms to City Plan 2030 and which includes affordable housing, commercial and community spaces and appropriate climate-ready  landscaping and greenspace.

Student accommodation may be acceptable on this site. but only as part of a part of a mixed-use development which conforms to City Plan 2030 and which includes affordable housing, commercial and community spaces and appropriate climate-ready  landscaping and greenspace.

Cockburn Response

We  have objected to this planning application.

We note that there is an existing planning approval for this site.  However, we believe that over-dominance of student accommodation in the current  application is undesirable and  will not support the social, economic and environment sustainability of the Old Town.

We acknowledge that the proposed development is of a similar scale as  the development which has approval for this site.  But its taller, characterless, more monolithic appearance is at odds with the rest of the New Waverley development and with the architecture of the Old Town more generally.

Student accommodation may be acceptable on this site. but only as part of a part of a mixed-use development which conforms to City Plan 2030 and which includes affordable housing, commercial and community community spaces and appropriate climate-ready  landscaping and greenspace.

The three housing  units in the current proposal are clearly out of place and inconsistent with a scheme which is now entirely dominated by student housing

Further Details Here

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Serviced Apartments – Crichton’s Close

Posted on: August 9, 2023

There seems to be a lack of any over-arching vision, strategy or action plan to balance the requirements of all local businesses and all local residents in the Old Town area

There seems to be a lack of any over-arching vision, strategy or action plan to balance the requirements of all local businesses and all local residents in the Old Town area

Cockburn Response

It is acknowledged that serviced holiday apartments, as proposed, may cause a more limited impact on surrounding homes and offices than holiday properties with no on-site management.

However, in the context of  ever expanding provision for the needs and requirements of transient populations in the Old Town, including tourists.  The Cockburn is increasingly concerned that there seems to be a lack of any over-arching vision, strategy or action plan to balance the requirements of all local businesses and all local residents in the Old Town area.

The continuing expansion of holiday-related accommodation in the Old Town has considerable potential to negatively impact on the lives and quality of life of long-term residents as it has already done in many European capitals, some of whom are now actively engaging in destination management to re-balance the needs and expectations of their residents and other stakeholders.

Further Details Here

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Edinburgh College of Art

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The Cockburn supports the need to reconfigure the internal spaces within the ECA’s buildings

The Cockburn supports the need to reconfigure the internal spaces within the ECA’s buildings

Cockburn Response

Overall the Cockburn is very supportive of this high-profile redevelopment within  the World Heritage Site and Old Town Conservation Area.  Three listed buildings are directly impacted, and significant changes are proposed to the public realm.

The Cockburn supports the need to reconfigure the internal spaces within the ECA’s buildings to suit contemporary usage,  the needs and expectations of academic staff and current students  and to facilitate barrier free access, as far as possible, within and around the buildings of the campus.  We do not consider that  impacts on the built heritage associated with this development are  either significant or negative.

However, the landscaping proposals are disappointing.  Overall, we considered that there is  too much hard landscaping and that an insufficient attempt has been  made to adapt the refreshed and new landscaped areas to the challenges of a changing local climate.

An attempt could also have been made to link several pockets of private/ public greenspace which exist around the ECA to promote urban biodiversity and climate adaptation goals.

The reduction of car parking   facilities across the site is welcomed.  But again this could have gone further with softer, greener landscaping proposals rather than the areas of hard landscape which are currently proposed.

Further Details Here

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Alterations to The Old Waverley Hotel

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The proposed new entrance is a positive improvement to the street frontage

The proposed new entrance is a positive improvement to the street frontage

Cockburn Response

 

The proposed new entrance is a positive improvement to the street frontage and a  more suitable and accessible entrance for this prominent hotel. The proposals will retain some ground level activity along Princes Street. 

The proposed restaurant and proposed improvements to the meuse lane  are also positive.

The approved roof extension will rationalise  the rather negative, unattractive  and jumbled aesthetic of the current roofscape. 

However, more information on access and servicing would have been welcome.

Further Details Here

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Proposed 5G telecoms installation: Grange Road

Posted on:

The need to clarify if, when and how such installations  can be sited within a conservation areas is urgent

The need to clarify if, when and how such installations  can be sited within a conservation areas is urgent

Cockburn Response

Proposals for prominent telecommunications installations in conservation areas continue to come forward and generally result in  significant local concern regarding their siting and their potential negative impact on the character and amenity of  individual conservation areas.

Local planning authorities are under a duty to formulate and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement of conservation areas . Policies need to be developed which clearly identify what it is about the character or appearance of the area which should be preserved or enhanced and the means of achieving that objective.

Given the frequency with which telecommunications  installations are proliferating across the city.  The need to clarify if, when and how such installations  can be sited within a conservation areas is urgent.

It is our view that such proposals  should not add to street clutter on busy pedestrian thoroughfares or in vicinity of  busy road  junctions.  Applications in conservation  areas 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 unique character  of 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, visitors and businesses. However, we believe that, in consultation with local stakeholders, any  proposed telecommunications installation  in  a conservation area should be located in an inconspicuous location, dis-aggregated into smaller, less conspicuous arrays or co-located on an existing installation if this is achievable.

Further Details Here

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Pop-up Festival Village

Posted on: June 22, 2023

It remains our position that this application should be refused

It remains our position that this application should be refused

Cockburn Response

The Cockburn objects to this application.  It appears very similar to a previous application on this site which we objected to and which was refused planning permission.  The only significant difference from the previous application would appear to be that retail units and toilets have been removed. This, if anything, renders this application ever less acceptable given that the nature of commercial activity proposed inevitably requires more, rather than fewer, toilets. Waverley Market is located on a particularly congested part of Princes Street with vehicular and pedestrian traffic moving to and from major transport hubs. This proposal will inevitably make an already poor situation worse.  In addition, the structures  associated with this application will negatively impact on some of the city’s most iconic views.

It remains our position that this application should be refused.  The proposal will have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the New and Old Town conservation areas and is therefore contrary to Section 59 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 and Local Development Plan Policy Env 6 (Conservation Areas – Development). It will also have an adverse impact on the setting of a number of nearby listed buildings and is therefore contrary to Section 64 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 and Local Development Plan Policy Env 3 (Listed Buildings – Setting).  As a result the proposal will have a detrimental impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site contrary to Local Development Plan Policy Env 1 (World Heritage Sites). In addition, the proposal does not represent a high-quality design that safeguards the historic environment and is therefore contrary to Local Development Plan policies Del 2 (City Centre), Ret 7 (Entertainment and Leisure Developments – Preferred Locations) and Des 4 (Development Design – Impact on Setting).

Should this pplication be refused planning permission, it may be appropriate for the Council’s Development Management Sub- Committee  to determine enforcement action.

Further Details Here

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Carlton Highland Hotel

Posted on: June 16, 2023

No information is supplied to enable an understanding  of  any potential impacts  on North Bridge and Market Street

No information is supplied to enable an understanding  of  any potential impacts  on North Bridge and Market Street

Cockburn Response

 

The Cockburn objects to this application. The proposed alterations to the hotel’s roofscape are clearly inconsistent with the architect’s original design concept for this side of North Bridge which requires clear separation between each of the façade elements to be maintained and carried through in the rooftop design.

Furthermore, no information is supplied to enable an understanding  of  any potential impacts  on North Bridge and Market Street  arising from this development as a result of an increase in  associated visitor and service access requirements.

Several hotel proposals are coming forward currently in and around Central Edinburgh.  The ad hoc nature of these applications makes it impossible to understand the potential cumulative impact arising from the additional access and service requirements of these developments.  The City of Edinburgh Council has an opportunity to take a pro-active approach to the development of a unified Servicing Plan for hotels and similar developments in consultation with Edinburgh residents and other stakeholders.

 

Further Details Here

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Part change of use, alterations, and erection of hotel /aparthotel

Posted on: June 15, 2023

This appears to be a good use of this site

This appears to be a good use of this site

Cockburn Response

This appears to be a good use of this site. External heritage features will be conserved, underused buildings will be brought back into productive use and most of the existing street level commercial units will be retained.

However, significant internal modifications are proposed. In the absence of a comprehensive Heritage Statement it has not been possible for us to fully assess the heritage impact of proposed downtakings.

More information is also required to understand the impact arising from this development with reference to associated visitor and service access requirements.

Several hotel proposals are coming forward currently in and around Central Edinburgh.  The ad hoc nature of these applications make it impossible to understand the potential cumulative impact arising from the additional access and service requirements of these developments.  The City of Edinburgh Council has an opportunity to take a pro-active approach to the development of a unified Servicing Plan for hotels and similar developments in consultation with Edinburgh residents and other stakeholders.

 

 

Further Details Here

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Proposed Hotel/Retail 104 – 106, 107 & 108 Princes Street

Posted on: May 19, 2023

We find that there is nothing in the current proposals which we can support. If consented this scheme will lead to the further erosion of what was once one of the finest streets in the world. We object in the strongest terms.

We find that there is nothing in the current proposals which we can support. If consented this scheme will lead to the further erosion of what was once one of the finest streets in the world. We object in the strongest terms.

Cockburn Response

Summary

The principle of hotel/retail use in this location is acceptable. We also support the proposed retention of an element of retail use and the maintenance an active street frontage. However, this application is not acceptable in its current form.   We find that there is little in the current proposals which we can support.  If consented this scheme will lead to a further erosion of what was once one of the finest streets in the world.  We object in the strongest terms.

The City of Edinburgh Council needs to seriously accelerate its stalled Waverley Valley exercise. In our view, leaving the future of such a prominent, world-renowned street to the vagaries of the market is not a way forward. There is a distinct possibility that Princes Street is evolving into a street of hotels, with all the issues that arise from that.

Detailed comments

The City Centre Princes Street Development Framework sets out a basis to address the decline in retail activity on Princes Street and to promote inward investment to this location.  Some of the underlying assumptions on which this framework is based are no longer valid. However, the ‘Building Analysis’ (p30) relating to the street block which is the subject of this development proposal remains valid. This block is now characterised by a varied and rolling roofline.

The front façade, as proposed, is simply too high and is based on the highest available reference datum point from adjacent buildings. As such this proposal actively works against the established varied and rolling  roofline which characterises this section of Princes Street.  We have reviewed  the current proposal with reference to the active floor levels of adjacent buildings and existing buildings on the redevelopment site. We have also examined the the characteristics of the rooflines on this section of Princes Street. As a consequence,  we suggest that the front façade requires to be reduced by at least two, and probably three, full stories in height.

A coordinated redesign and height adjustment of the rear facades will also be required to integrate  successfully the rear elevation with a lower front elevation and to maintain the essential character of the First New Town. The essential character of the New Town  consists of principal buildings on main streets and lower scale buildings on intervening streets such as Rose Street Lane. The scale and character of buildings on Rose Street Lane has changed over the years.  However, the essential character of the relationship between main and subsidiary streets of the first New Town is still legible on Rose Street Lane.

In general terms, it is own view that this proposal represents a considerable increase in development on a restricted site and the imposition of a massive and architecturally bland and mundane development in a highly prominent location in the New Town of Edinburgh. As such, it fundamentally does not support policy ENV World Heritage Sites. This policy ‘requires development to respect and protect the outstanding universal values of the World Heritage Sites and their settings. Setting may include sites in the immediate vicinity, viewpoints identified in the key views study and prominent landscape features throughout the city’.  We also note that the development site includes 106 Princes Street, originally a townhouse, it is essential that such remaining Georgian elements on Princes Street are retained and protected.

This development proposal includes a 300-bedroom hotel, with additional retail units.  The servicing requirements of the proposed hotel/retail operation will be quite different and significantly more onerous to achieve than the requirements of the former retail units which used to operate from this site.  These retail operations used the site in a much less intensive way than is now being proposed.    It is likely that considerably more traffic will be generated, and that this will be both frequent and varied.  This development will also attract a considerable number of occupants.  We do not accept that the nearby tramline will alleviate potential access pressures.  It is likely that a considerable number of taxi-led journeys will be generated. Yet, vehicular movements in Rose Street Lane are constrained, Rose Street is pedestrianised, and the City Centre Transformation Plan seeks to reduce vehicular movements in the city centre.  A revised servicing and access plan is needed to directly address these current and emerging contextual issues.

Rose Street Lane has a residential population and adjacent street also retains a residential character to a degree.  Although it is unclear if all current residential uses are fully regulated, it is likely that Rose Street Lane will retain a residential character. Daylighting in Rose Street Lane is not good. However, we do not accept that this is a reason to risk degrading the quality of daylighting for residents further.

Further Details Here

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