‘Granton is not Saint-Tropez’ - Beach hut homes will still be built despite concerns

Councillors granted planning permission for the new homes.

Councillors granted planning permission to Edinburgh Marine Holdings to build 144 apartments and 24 houses at two plots of the wider Granton Waterfront project – despite concerns over too much car parking.

The agreed project is made up of 61 one-bedroom flats, 63 two-bedroom flats, 20 three-bedroom flats and 18 three-bedroom “beach hut” houses.

Two blocks will be six storeys high and contain 66 flats and will “mirror each other”. A 2,800 sqm area of open space will be constructed in the middle of the site to separate the blocks. Another block of flats, which will front a new road, Ross Kesrel Drive, will be six storeys high and contain 12 apartments.

A row of 18 two-storey  terraced houses will be built at the north of the site, which will be different colours in the style of traditional beach huts and will front onto Hesperus Crossway. Each house will have a small front garden and larger rear gardens.

Cllr George Gordon asked officers if they could put a condition on the beach huts, preventing them from being different colours.

He said: “In my ward, some of the newer buildings that have been rendered have not weathered very well. I wondered if something could be done to ensure they stand the test of time rather than what we currently have which is streaks and bits falling off?

“I’ve heard a comment that it’s going to be like a multi-coloured swap shop – every one a different colour. Can we control that because it would look rather odd? It’s very nice to have beach houses but we are talking about Granton here, not Saint-Tropez.”

Officers said nothing could be added as a condition and owners could paint their homes any colour they like as it’s not in a conservation area.

Councillors backed the plans, but Cllr Chas Booth raised concerns over proposals for 162 car parking spaces to be provided in a basement off-street area.

Cllr Booth said: “I have some concerns about this. In a time of climate crisis, to be approving an application that is right at the top of our limits in terms of car parking is not wise at all.”

No additional affordable housing has been provided in the development as a previous legal agreement for the overall waterfront scheme set a 15 per cent provision, which “has already been secured on other sites within Granton Harbour”.

The developers say they will offer a large number of homes with uninterrupted views across the Firth of Forth towards the Forth Bridge.

Matthew Garstang of Edinburgh Marina Holdings, said: “We are delighted to have received detailed planning permission for phase two of the Edinburgh Marina development.

“This is an important stepping stone in the creation of this world-class development comprising the landmark Edinburgh Marina, over 800 new homes.”

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