Warden’s Close

Cockburn Response

The Cockburn Association recognises the opportunity to redevelop this long-vacant backland site and accepts that carefully designed development has the potential to make a positive contribution to Warden’s Close and the wider Grassmarket. The Association also supports contemporary architecture where it responds positively to its context and reinforces Edinburgh’s distinctive character and sense of place.

However, this proposal occupies an exceptionally sensitive location within the Old Town Conservation Area and the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site. While the application concludes that the proposal preserves and enhances these designated heritage assets, the supporting information does not yet provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that this is the case.

The Association considers that the proposed elevations are central to the assessment of the application. The development would introduce a substantial new built frontage into what is currently an open backland space and therefore has the potential to change significantly the sense of place and spatial character of Warden’s Close. This is not simply a question of architectural appearance, but of how the proposed building would influence the enclosure, scale, grain and experience of one of the Old Town’s historic closes.

Given the sensitivity of the location, the Association considers that the application should be supported by a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of the proposed elevations on neighbouring listed buildings, the character and appearance of the Old Town Conservation Area, the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site and the historic urban grain. Assertions that the proposal preserves or enhances these heritage assets should be demonstrated through robust townscape, visual and heritage analysis, including verified visualisations where appropriate.

The Association also considers that insufficient justification has been provided for the proposed use as four purpose-built Short Term Let apartments. Greater consideration should be given to whether permanent residential accommodation would make a stronger and more sustainable contribution to maintaining the mixed and balanced residential community that forms an important element of the special character of the Old Town.

The Association therefore considers that, while redevelopment of the site may be appropriate in principle, further assessment is required to demonstrate that the proposal responds appropriately to the heritage significance, townscape character and distinctive sense of place of Warden’s Close.