Short-term visitor accommodation at 26 Valleyfield Street, Tollcross, Edinburgh

“Proposal: Change of use from residential (sui generis) to short term visitor accommodation (sui generis) retrospective.”

“The application property is a ground floor flatted dwelling within a four-storey tenement block at 20 to 28 Valleyfield Street (even numbers). It comprises two bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen/living space and is accessed via a private main door entrance directly from the street. There is no shared or private outdoor amenity space associated with the property.”

“To the east of the block is residential tenements leading towards the Meadows and to the west is a four-storey tenement, on the corner of Valleyfield Street and Leven Street. This includes a pub/restaurant and coffee shop on the ground floor with residential flats above. The property is located approximately 30 metres west of Leven Street which forms a part of Tollcross Town Centre.”

“The application is for the change of use of the property from a flatted dwelling to short term let (sui generis). No internal or external physical changes are proposed. The application form states that the operation of the property as a short term let commenced on 07 August 2021. The application is therefore retrospective.”

“23/04020/CLESTL 26 Valleyfield Street Edinburgh EH3 9LR Short term let. Refused 19 September 2024”

“It is recommended that this application be Refused subject to the details below.”

“The change of use of this property to an STL is acceptable in terms of neighbouring amenity. However, the loss of the residential accommodation has not been justified. Whilst it is recognised that there is an economic benefit to the city as a whole from the provision of tourist accommodation, in this case it does not outweigh the adverse impact on residential amenity or the loss of residential accommodation.”

“To comply with the policy, it is not sufficient to demonstrate that the STL use will deliver economic benefits; rather, it must be demonstrated that the economic benefits associated with any individual application are significant enough that they warrant the loss of a home, and the economic and other benefits associated with this.”

“Given the declared housing emergency and pressures on residential accommodation in Edinburgh, in addition to the economic and societal benefits that residential accommodation in the City brings in terms of people being able to live, work and contribute to their community, significant weight has to be given to the retention of existing residential accommodation.”

“- Property is small in size. - No negative impact on residential amenity. - Proposal complies with NPF 4 Policy 30 and LDP Policy Hou 6. - Economic benefit as a result of the STL use. - Property is in a mixed-use area. - Property not large enough for full-time residential use.”

“- Negative impact on residential amenity. - Proposal does not comply with NPF 4 Policy 30 (e) and LDP Policy Hou 6. - Shared accesses. - Economic benefit analysis is generic. - Edinburgh has a housing crisis. - Loss of residential accommodation. - Loss of community.”

“25/03272/FULSTL - Report by the Chief Planning Officer To REFUSE planning permission for the reasons set out in section C of the report by the Chief Planning Officer.”