Change of use from hotel to serviced apartments

Cockburn Response

The Cockburn Association objects to the proposed change of use of 14–15 Claremont Crescent from hotel to seven serviced apartments. This application represents a clear retreat from the principle of restoring permanent residential use to this listed New Town terrace, a principle that underpinned the Council’s recent approval for residential conversion and which aligns with wider strategic objectives to sustain living communities within the historic city centre.

Claremont Crescent forms part of a sensitive, predominantly residential environment whose character depends not only on architectural form but on stable, long-term occupation. The replacement of consented residential flats with commercially managed serviced apartments introduces a transient model of occupation that is fundamentally different in nature, intensity, and impact. Experience elsewhere in the New Town demonstrates that such uses erode residential amenity through regular guest turnover, increased servicing activity, vehicle movements, waste handling, and the gradual loss of neighbourly continuity. These impacts are not mitigated simply because the former use was a hotel; the direction of travel approved by the Council was explicitly toward permanent housing, not a reshaped version of commercial accommodation.

Although the applicant states that no additional physical alterations are proposed, the change in operational use has the potential to affect the way the building is used, managed and maintained, with implications for the long-term care of its listed fabric and the character of the terrace. Serviced apartments often introduce cumulative pressures, including increased wear, signage, access systems and servicing infrastructure, which can undermine both heritage value and residential amenity if not rigorously controlled.

This proposal conflicts with the spirit and intent of NPF4, particularly Policy 16 (Quality Homes), and with City Plan 2030 policies seeking to protect residential environments from inappropriate commercial encroachment. Allowing this change would also set an unhelpful precedent, signalling that recently approved residential conversions can be reversed for short-stay commercial purposes, weakening the Council’s efforts to rebalance the city centre toward permanent habitation.

For these reasons, the Cockburn Association considers the proposal unacceptable in principle and detrimental to the long-term sustainability and character of the New Town. We therefore object to the application and urge the Planning Authority to refuse consent. Should the Council nonetheless be minded to consider approval, we strongly insist that stringent conditions be imposed to prevent unmanaged short-term use and to safeguard residential amenity and the historic fabric of the building.