Architect's warning over 'super hostel' plans for World Heritage site

A conservation architect has issued a warning over plans to build a 544-room "super hostel' on a World Heritage site in Edinburgh's west end.

Proposals to convert four Category A-listed townhouses and associated mews buildings at Atholl Crescent have received more than 280 objections.

Residents, elected representatives and heritage bodies have heavily criticised the plans but Edinburgh World Heritage (EWH)has not objected to the project.

The proposals are currently under appeal with the Scottish government after the developer was refused planning permission by the City of Edinburgh Council in December.

Jocelyn Cunliffe, chair of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS), urged EWH to rethink their support after all four city centre councillors condemned the proposals and the developer's approach.

The conservation architect said: "How a building is used matters just as much as how it is altered.

"The issue is not simply the physical alterations that may or may not take place. It is the scale and intensity of the proposed use.

"Cramming in hundreds of sleeping pods into those spaces inevitably alters that character, regardless of whether the pods themselves are technically removable."

Cunliffe warned that approving developments of this significance could have wider implications for the city.

She added: "If developments of this scale and intensity are considered acceptable within some of the most important Georgian buildings in the New Town, what precedent does that set for other streets and crescents?

"These pressures cannot be allowed to erode the very qualities that make the city special."

Documents submitted to the Scottish government by the developers said its ambition for the properties was to appeal to "the new wave of travellers" who value "meaningful experiences, great locations, and real value for money."

It continued: "The proposals comprise conversion of the existing office space to hotel use, with guest bedrooms spread across five floors and mews building.

"It is intended that the hotel will provide a mixture of private double rooms and ensuite capsule rooms across a total of 78 bedrooms, with 544 beds."

Atholl Crescent forms part of Edinburgh's New Town, a Unesco World Heritage Site internationally recognised for its architectural and urban planning significance.

The crescent, designed in the early 19th century by architect Thomas Bonnar, is a key example of Georgian town planning, with its uniform terraces and carefully proportioned residential buildings.

The properties used to be occupied as offices by a legal firm, before becoming vacant in recent years.

The appeal, by a developer called Atholl Crescent Propco Ltd, is currently under consideration by a reporter at the Scottish government's planning and environmental appeals division.

Edinburgh World Heritage has been approached for comment.