Planning notes

We told you last month about the plans for a building at the foot of Dundas Street. This is Centrum House and BUPA House across the street from the former RBS building. Although a public consultation has already been held you can still make comments on the planning application until 13 November through the website 108-116dundasstreet.co.uk or by phoning 0131 226 7225.

An interesting application has been uncovered in the weekly planning lists for redevelopment of the former laundry on Pittville Street Lane in Portobello replacing the existing water tower and creating a single dwelling above office/studio space.

Whenever the journalists who fill the columns of The Scotsman and the Edinburgh Evening

News returm to their office on Queensferry Road, they may find the surrounding areas altered. Owners Palm Capital have asked for permission to develop the car parks to the east and west of Orchard Brae House for a new residential development. The public consultation has taken place but is open for comments until 6 November hello@orchardbrae.scot or 0131 202 3259 for details.

An application to demolish a garage and replace it with a two storey house would not normally attract much attention. There is a real need for more housing in the city, and a need to avoid using the greenbelt.

But those living and working near Spey Street Lane in Leith have begun a Save the Lane campaign to oppose the new home, partly on the grounds that it does not fit within the Local Development Plan. They say: "The men and women working on the lane are vulnerable because their livelihood depends on their workshops which are at risk if a change of use from business to residential is granted - vulnerable places need to be safeguarded, especially when they meet the needs of the local residents by providing essential services and job opportunities to the community.

"The proposal would not contribute towards a sense of place. It would be damaging to the small scale industrial character of the lane."

savethelane.co.uk