A former Edinburgh hotel is set to be demolished to make way for student accommodation.
The Scottish Government planning appeals division this week ruled in favour of the proposal after it was rejected by the City of Edinburgh Council on January 14 of this year.
Northfield House Hotel, at Lasswade Road, is to be demolished and replaced by a five-storey student accommodation building, with 99 rooms, including 90 studio apartments.
The Georgian-era hotel has been in operation since around 1870 but is not a listed building and has ceased trading years ago, but was still used for functions prior to the pandemic.
The site is located south of Edinburgh city centre on Lasswade Road, just south of Liberton.
The student accommodation is to be a car free development and there will be over 100 cycle spaces on site.
The housing will be designed and managed by companies specialised in offering pre-furnished and decorated rooms, including kitchens, social areas and co-working spaces, as well as professional services, such as concierge, cleaning and welfare.
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The Liberton and District Community Council objected to the proposal and cited fears over the building not fitting in with the character of the area and also worry about the new transient student population contributing little to the local community.
Edinburgh council initially ruled in January that the proposal was contrary to the Local Development Plan and “would be damaging to the character and appearance of the area around it.”
However, the planning reporter for the Scottish Government, Chris Norman, ruled against them on November 15 and paved the way for the new student accommodation.
He said: “I find that the proposal’s lower eastern height would not be damaging or otherwise harmful to the character or appearance of the well-wooded residential area when seen from the east.
“When seen from Lasswade Road to the west the proposed building would not be incongruous with the height and positive characteristics of similar buildings in the surrounding area and particularly those of the simple and pleasing modern design of the flats in Gracemount House Drive.
“In the context of the locality it would not be a poor quality, alien, design. Contrary to the views of the council I find that the scale, form and design of the proposal would reflect positive characteristics of the surrounding area.”
