Plans for 20,000sq ft of new office space for small and medium-sized businesses in Edinburgh’s Old Town have been granted planning permission.

The proposals from property developer Summix Capital cover the area at 179 Canongate, with four floors designed for SMEs that includes the provision for co-working. The top two floors will also have accessible break-out spaces.

Incorporating the wider UNESCO World Heritage Site and the A-listed structures of the Canongate Kirk and Canongate Tolbooth, the development will retain boundary walls, existing workshop structures and remaining historical artefacts on site. Developers say the site also has potential for a publicly accessible café along the existing courtyard to Old Tolbooth Wynd.