Appeal for high rise flats at Corstorphine thrown out

Residents campaign against Pinkhill development. Pic Ian Georgeson.

The appeal against Edinburgh’s Council decision to refuse planning permission for a five-storey flat block at Pinkhill has been turned down today after the government’s reporter said the overall impact on the area would be too severe.

Developers Dandara appealed the rejection of plans to knock down an existing office building at 33 Pinkhill to make way for 51 apartments in the hope the government planners would push through the plans.

But local residents, who insisted they were not averse to reasonable applications for the site, are relieved the saga was over.

There were more than 400 objections to the initial proposal, which claimed the new block would ruin the city skyline.

Corstorphine & Murrayfield Tory Cllr Scott Douglas said: “This is great news for Pinkhill and all of the those who fought so hard against this application.

“This decision marks the end of months of campaigning from the local residents’ association, and it’s wonderful that their hard work has paid off.

“The proposed development was totally inappropriate for the area, and both the Scottish Government and the council have now acknowledged this.

“Had Dandara engaged with residents instead of ignoring them then this whole process could have been avoided – hopefully they will learn from this experience.”

Local residents maintained they are not averse to development on the site.

John Kerr, of Pinkhill Residents’ Association said: “It has been a long hard journey for the local residents but sense has finally prevailed. Planning Department should not be supporting buildings on small suburban brownfield sites which sit high above existing properties and which make excessive profits for the developer at the expense of local and new residents alike. We have consistently said that we would be happy with a proposal for residential apartments of a suitable height and scale and in proportion to the existing environment.”

A spokesperson for Dandara said: “We will study the decision closely. Throughout the application process we listened carefully to the points raised by residents and made significant modifications to the original plan. The planning application we submitted was compliant with policy and recommended for approval.”

Join our Facebook group Our Edinburgh to share images and news from and around the Capital