Marshall’s Court demolition
Posted on: August 9, 2024
Retaining current homes plays a crucial role in tackling the environment crisis and maintaining the availability of housing.
Address: 11 Marshall’s Court Edinburgh EH1 3AL
Proposal: Demolition of detached dwelling house to erect serviced apartments which are to be operated and managed as one business and all associated site work
Reference: 24/02959/FULSTL
Closing date for comments: Wed 09 Aug 2024
Determination date: Wed 11 Sep 2024
Cockburn Response
The Cockburn objects to this application.
This potential demolition of a fairly new family home in Edinburgh and its replacement with a less conventional living space is especially worrying considering Edinburgh’s official declarations of both a climate and housing emergency. We see no evidence of any compensatory factors in the planning application, such as the state of the existing building, which would make this proposal reasonable.
There is a consensus that tearing down current structures produces a considerable amount of waste and pollution. The UK building industry is already a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, and tearing down a modern home would further exacerbate this issue in Edinburgh. Additionally, modern homes are frequently constructed using materials and designs that are designed to save energy. Destroying such a home, as requested in the present application, would result in the loss of the resources and the energy that was put into constructing the home in the first place.
Furthermore, Edinburgh is suffering a housing crisis and grappling with a substantial lack of affordable and social housing options to cater to a wide and varied range of housing needs. Removing a current home from the available housing pool can only worsen this problem by diminishing the total amount of housing available. The city’s emphasis should be on preserving current housing options and boosting the quantity and quality of homes, rather than diminishing them.
Given these points, it is clear that the proposed demolition of a modern residential home in Edinburgh is counterproductive in the context of both the climate and the housing emergency. Instead, efforts should be directed towards the retention, sustainable renovation and expansion of the existing housing stock.
Maintaining current homes plays a crucial role in tackling issues related both to the environment crisis and the current shortfall in the availability of housing. By concentrating on keeping homes and, if necessary, upgrading and retrofitting them, the city can improve its overall energy efficiency and sustainability, all while ensuring there is sufficient housing available to fulfil the current unmet demand.