Plans for a 148-bed student accommodation development in the Scottish capital have been approved.
The plans submitted by Architects Fletcher Joseph Associates on behalf of CA Yeaman (Edinburgh) Property Owner Limited, which were amended slightly, were accepted by City of Edinburgh Council planners.
The site sits on the Union Canal.
đ´ Get full year digital access with our lowest offer yet
đ Sign up HERE
The plan includes the demolition of the existing buildings on site.
In amended documents to the council, the developer said: âThe proposals seek to provide a 148 studio purpose-built student accommodation development with ancillary and amenity facilities comprising of four individual blocks carefully arranged to frame direct public access to the canal towpath and a public route through the site to Dundee Street.
âThese moves will significantly improve the local pedestrian connectivity and create a hugely enhanced frontage to the historic canal.â
READ MORE:Â Edinburgh Union Canal student homes plan lodged
The papers also stated: âThe previous proposed scheme incorporated a low incline stepped access from Yeaman Place to the canal tow path in response to the siteâs challenging site restrictions.
âFrom feedback received, a further review of this access route has taken place and a fully DDA accessible ramp has now been incorporated which looks to balance the need for level access and the requirements of the Edinburgh Design Guidance, Secure by Design Guidance and Historic Environment Scotland."
It continued:Â âThe pend access through block one provides a vital connection from Yeaman Place through to the Union Canal.
"To encourage safety and security for users utilising the route, additional glazing has been introduced to the pend elevation from the escape route and adjacent management suite to improve the level of passive surveillance.
âThe alterations to introduce the accessible ramp connecting the canal to Yeaman Place prompted a review of the developments interface with the canal to ensure this delivered an attractive area of public realm and a safe junction with the canal tow path."
READ MORE:Â Plans for student flats above Scottish city supermarket
It added: "Further collaboration with HES and Scottish Canals informed the current proposal which we consider represents optimum access to the site without detriment to the scheduled monument.â
The site, currently used as a scrapyard, consists of three one-two storey buildings providing storage units and an office.
Two of the existing buildings sit along the Union Canal border of the site, blocking a potential access point from the union canal to Dundee Street and Yeaman place.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.Â
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.Â
That is invaluable.Â
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalistâs job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readersâ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readersâ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the âreport this postâ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here