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<\/p>\nPlans to turn offices in a town centre into a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) have been lodged\u00a0with Midlothian planners.<\/p>\n
The proposals for the first floor office space on Bonnyrigg High Street have been put forward by Prosperity Scotland Limited who say the offices on the floor have been vacant for many\u00a0years.<\/p>\n
The first floor property sits above a cafe on the High Street and is next door to another first\u00a0floor unit which earlier\u00a0this year won an appeal over plans to expand their home with a new\u00a0dormer window.<\/p>\n
The latest plans would see four offices on the first floor replaced with four separate\u00a0bedrooms, a communal living area, and shower room.\u00a0New windows are proposed along with a shower vent which will come out of the roof of the
building.<\/p>\n
At the appeal hearing for the neighbouring flat councillors described Bonnyrigg High Street\u00a0as a \u2018mish mash\u2019 of buildings with no traditional look.<\/p>\n
Planners had rejected the proposal to extend the attic of the top floor property, ruling\u00a0the proposed dormer would be \u2018unsympathetic\u2019 to the building and not \u2018in character\u2019\u00a0with its original look.<\/p>\n
However councillors pointed to a mix of styles in the street as they overturned the\u00a0decision by officers approving the attic extension.<\/p>\n
At the time the owner of the property said the extension should be considered in the context\u00a0of a \u201cwider, pressing issue \u2014 the national and local housing crisis, especially the\u00a0acute shortage of suitable homes for families and individuals\u201d.<\/p>\n
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