THREE-YEAR MERRY GO ROUND ON PRINCES STREET / OLD ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL LATEST
M&D Events seeks permission to erect a 12600mm-diameter traditional carousel ride with associated stands for dispensing ice cream, hot dogs and cold drinks on the roof terrrace of Princes Mall (Ref. 15/05426/FUL).
The application is for three years, and from initial discussions with Council officials, M&D understands that CEC considers the proposal ‘generally acceptable’.
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The Royal High School Preservation Trust’s detailed proposals to rehome St Mary’s Music School on Regent Road are now available online as part of its formal planning application (Refs15/05662/FUL; 15/05665/LBC)
Spurtle has not yet finished reading them, but this afternoon we were sent three new artist's impressions of how the completed redevelopment might look. According to the RHSPT:
The new visualisations show how the incorporation of new and near invisible school buildings to the east and north protect the integrity and setting of the Hamilton masterpiece, while providing capacity for the school to increase in size in the coming years, from 83 to 120 pupils.
They also highlight plans to complement the creation of three new public performance spaces, including a 300-seat concert hall in the former debating chamber, with a new publicly-accessible garden on the western and northern flanks of the site.
Meanwhile, the official report to the Development Management Sub-Committee on Duddingston House Properties/Urbanist Group’s rival application to create a luxury hotel complex on the same site (Refs15/03989/FUL; 15/03990/LBC) can be found here.
The 136-page document finds several good things to say about the proposal, including significant likely benefits to Edinburgh’s economy, a high-quality elevation, and a sophisticated response to the site’s context.
However, it also finds that these would not outweigh the adverse effect on listed buildings’ chararcter and setting; the character of the Conservation area and the OUV of the World Heritage Site.
In a nutshell, the report concludes that ‘too much building is being proposed for this highly sensitive site’.
The report therefore recommends refusal. The DMS will consider the application on Thursday 17 December.
We reproduce below, in full and unedited, the Summary of the report:
Summary
The proposed change of use, alterations and extension of the Royal High School to create a luxury hotel would assist in addressing the demand for high quality hotels in Edinburgh. While planning can have no control over the type of hotel use, it is clear that a hotel of the very highest quality is proposed. There would be significant benefits to the city's economy and tourism resulting from this type of hotel. The existing building is not being used at present and is on the Buildings at Risk Register. The proposal would bring the former Royal High School back into sustainable long term use.
In relation to a number of aspects, such as neighbouring amenity, transport, archaeology, geology, culture, environmental health and infrastructure, the development is acceptable or its impacts can be successfully mitigated with the use of planning conditions or legal agreements.
The site contains a number of buildings that fall under a category A listing, the most important of which is the original building known as the Hamilton Building. The site sits within a dynamic urban landscape. It is highly sensitive, being highly prominent in the Edinburgh World Heritage Site, New Town Conservation area and the New Town Gardens Inventory Gardens and Designed Landscape. It is adjacent to the Site of Special Scientific Interest on Calton Hill. The Hill contains a series of monuments and buildings that are also category A listed. The impacts of the extensions and alterations to the building therefore need careful consideration in order to determine whether any harm these may cause would outweigh the benefit of bringing building into use.
The architectural appearance, of the proposed new buildings echoes the form of the nearby Crags. They are clearly modern additions, providing a striking contrast to the Hamilton Building and the nearby listed monuments and buildings. The materials and detailing would ensure a high quality elevation design. In relation to these aspects, the architecture proposed is a sophisticated response to the site's sensitive context. While the architectural design, through the elevational design and the stepped form, does mitigate, to some degree, the effects of the size of the extensions, the proposal would have a significant adverse impact on the character and setting of listed buildings, the character of the Conservation Area and the OUV of the World Heritage Site. The proposed does not meet the requirements of Policy Des 3 a) of the ECLP or Policy Des 4 of the LDP.
The intrusion into the landscape space that can be seen below and alongside the listed monuments and buildings on Calton Hill would erode their setting. The proposal does not comply with Policies Env 3 and Env 4 of the Edinburgh City Local Plan (ECLP), Policies Env 3 and 4 of the Second Proposed Edinburgh Local Development Plan (LDP) or the Scottish Historic Environment Policy (SHEP).
In respect of SHEP it is necessary to consider whether the proposed development is acceptable in order to determine whether demolition can be supported in this instance. Due to the adverse impacts of the proposed development, the demolition of two listed buildings within the site (the gymnasium building and the lodge) cannot be justified. The proposal does not comply with Policy Env 2 of the ECLP, Policy Env 2 of the LDP or SHEP.
In addition, the proposal's effects are detrimental to the character of the New Town Conservation Area and to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site. The proposal does therefore not comply with Policies Env 1 and Env 5 of the ECLP and Env 1 and Env 6 of the LDP.
While in general the development would accord with principles on accessibility and would have an economic benefit, these benefits are not outweighed by the harm to the historic environment. As such, the development is not sustainable development as defined by Scottish Planning Policy.
The development does not comply with the Princes Street Block 10 Development Brief, due to the impact on the setting of the Royal High School.
The benefits to the City's economy and to tourism through bringing an at risk building back into a sustainable long term use are not outweighed by the very significant harm to built heritage and landscape of the city. In coming to this conclusion, regard has been had to the exceptional architectural and historic interest of the Royal High School and the quality of its surrounding environment. The development would cause permanent and irreversible damage. The adverse impacts on the character and setting of listed buildings, the New Town Conservation Area, the designed landscape of Calton Hill and the OUV of the World Heritage site would not be mitigated by the sophisticated design of the proposed extensions. Put simply, too much building is being proposed for this highly sensitive site.
[Carousel image top-right: chrisp7091, Sheffield Forum.]
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