Article in the Scotsman about the development and the residents association

Have a look at this article to see how the Scotsman reported on our objections and the Merchiston Community Council meeting that took place in September 2009.

Proposed development in the Flower Colonies’ Area

Fully enclosed within the Flower Colonies Area, bordered by the tenements of Primrose, Violet and Laurel Terraces, 3-37 Slateford Road, and the railway path behind Harrison Gardens, is the site of the old biscuit factory.

The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) sold the site to the developers AMA who commissioned the architectural practice Oberlanders to draw up plans for development. The architects have designed a set of buildings to support the developer’s business model and the city’s need for accommodation, and these have entered planning application.

Objection to the proposed development

Local residents, under the guidance of the Flower Colonies Area Residents’ Association, have been following this application with considerable interest. We are in favour of development, but we believe that any change should have a positive impact on the community, and the planning application submitted by AMA/Oberlanders neither fulfils our needs, nor lives up to the architect’s own standards of ‘excellence of design’ and the ‘highest of architectural standards’. We have formally objected to their application on many levels, as well as start to create our own community-led design.

History of the application and our involvement with it

The Residents’ Association took note of the intention of develop in May 2008, and obtained correspondence between CEC and AMA, and requested a public meeting. Almost a year later, in May 2009, AMA and Oberlanders met local residents at two ‘consultations’. Local residents did not feel that this was a consultation, but a meeting at which we were told exactly what would be built. The planning application, without taking on board any of our recommendations, was filed on the 23^rd June 2009.

The Association rallied the local residents and organised their own public meetings to explain the application process and discuss the positive and negative impacts of the proposed scheme. The wider Shandon area was also leafleted, and many people not directly affected showed a clear concern about the proposal, as they felt it could have a negative impact on the whole Shandon area.

In the three-week consultation period that followed the lodging of the application, local residents submitted in the region of 60-80 objection letters to the Council. Due to this pressure, the developer was instructed to revise the design. To date this has not yet been submitted.

Main objections to the AMA/ Oberlander design of June 2009

There were many reasons for community objections to the original design, and some of the main points, which were expanded on in residents’ letters, include the following:

1. The height, scale and density of the proposal was out of proportion with the surrounding area;

2. Access road to the site was proposed to be through the private lane serving Violet and Laurel terrace, transforming this quiet lane into a busy access road;

3. Oversimplified box-like buildings of materials proposed mainly of glass, steel and brick were entirely out of keeping with the surrounding area.

4. Student accommodation for 220 students would swamp the area entirely. Residents are not opposed to student accommodation per se, just opposed to proportion of student accommodation proposed.

5. The initial proposal did not provide sufficient parking for new residents, would remove 50% of the parking from Violet and Laurel Terrace residents, and approximately 30% of the parking in Primrose Terrace, not to mention place further stress on other local roads.

6. A large commercial unit with a large and unnecessary loading bay at the back would only add to the congestion on the proposed access road.

Support for objections by the Residents’ Association

We have been writing to local councillors, MSPs and MPs, and we received letters of support from Cllr Gordon Buchan, Cllr Andrew Burns, MSP Sarah Boyack and the Right Honourable Alistair Darling MP.

The Cockburn Association which works to conserve and enhance Edinburgh’s natural and man-made environment, has also objected to the proposal.

We contacted Merchiston Community Council , Gorgie/Dalry Community Council, and Dalry Colonies Residents’ Association, and all have who supported us in writing.

We made contact with Shaeron Averbuch at Art in Architecture and Ross McEwan at JUMP who have a successful history of helping local residents with local issues in architectural and urban planning. They have been assisting us since, and have helped generate enthusiasm for our own community-led design.