New conservation award is right up residents' street

Plewlands, an area of Victorian and Edwardian properties in Morningside, won the sought-after status after pressure from local residents.

The area, which also includes Morningside cemetery, is bounded by existing conservation areas to the east and west, and stretches from Napier University's Craighouse Campus to Comiston Road.

Homeowners had initially petitioned Historic Scotland to have their homes included in the nation's list of buildings deemed to have historical or architectural merit.

Heritage bosses, however, told them the buildings did not meet the necessary criteria.

Council planning officials then carried out an assessment of the area, agreeing it was "pleasant", but suggesting that the case for its distinctiveness was "more marginal".

Following a public consultation, however, plans for giving Plewlands conservation status won the backing of local residents and the likes of the Cockburn Association.

More than 30 responses to the consultation backed awarding the area special status, but a further 16 were against the plans, saying the area lacked architectural character.

The council then took the decision to award conservation status to the area, which makes it harder for new development to take place.

Lindsay Walls, of Morningside Community Council, said the area was the "most interesting" in Edinburgh.

He said: "The community council fully supports the report from the planning department and is quite confident this will have a good effect on the area.

"It's the most interesting part of Edinburgh, especially the area between Morningside Drive and Comiston Drive, which contains classic examples of Victorian villas.

"And the area to the north further exemplifies developments from the 1920s and 1930s."

The area's name dates from the late 15th century when it consisted of two farms, Over Plewland and Nether Plewland.

Plewland refers to the old Scots measurement of area that could be ploughed over the year by a single team of oxen.

A council spokesman said: "Having consulted with local residents and the wider conservation community, we found there to be broad support for the proposed designation of a conservation area.

"The resultant controls will assist in maintaining the Plewlands area's historic and architectural character."

Earlier this year, the Cockburn Association pledged its backing to the campaign for conservation status, but only if the move won the support of local residents.

The association, which is Edinburgh's civic trust, wrote to the council in support of the move.