{"id":784571,"date":"2026-02-23T22:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/784571\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T22:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:35:10","slug":"edinburgh-residents-blindsided-by-appalling-short-term-let-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/784571\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh residents \u201cblindsided\u201d by \u201cappalling\u201d short-term let decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

RESIDENTS of a charming Edinburgh Street have been left livid after\u00a0an \u201cappalling\u201d\u00a0u-turn\u00a0by a property developer who promised to convert a former hotel on Claremont Crescent\u00a0into permanent housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The owners of the Claremont Hotel instead decided to convert the building<\/a> into\u00a0a block of short-term let flats instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Council officers have recommended that the plans be approved at a meeting on Wednesday, but \u201cdismayed\u201d locals are appealing to councillors to\u00a0pause a decision on the development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

45\u00a0objections\u00a0have been lodged\u00a0with the council\u00a0regarding\u00a0the plans, with a local MSP<\/a>, the Cockburn Association<\/a> \u2013 Edinburgh\u2019s civic trust \u2013 and the New Town\u00a0and Broughton Community Council<\/a> all\u00a0speaking out against the revised plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Claremont<\/a>Claremont Crescent (pictured above), could now see an influx of short-term visitors (C) Google<\/p>\n

S1 Developments, who own and are developing\u00a0the property pivoted the development after winning planning approval, claiming that there was no market for the flats as residential properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Locals objecting to the plans drew attention to the \u201cbreach of trust\u201d by developers, saying they had \u201cundermined the integrity of the planning system\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amanda Young, who lives on the crescent, said: \u201cThe developer secured planning consent for long-term residential homes on the basis this would address Edinburgh\u2019s housing shortage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, with works underway for over a year, they are\u00a0seeking\u00a0to change the use to short-term serviced apartments, undermining the entire premise on which consent was granted.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms Young added: \u201cUnmanned short term lets will have a significant negative impact on a safe, quiet, family-focused, close-knit community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all support new residences being built but not to be used as short lets which will fundamentally change the nature of our crescent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike the\u00a0previous\u00a0hotel, the block of short-term let flats will not be\u00a0monitored\u00a0or staffed, allowing developers to reap the financial benefits of having transient tenants while avoiding costly hotel overheads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another resident said many locals\u00a0felt \u201cblindsided\u201d by S1\u2019s revised plans.\u00a0\u201cThe now\u00a0very obvious\u00a0\u2018bait and switch\u2019 technique\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0using to change permission to STL is appalling,\u201d said another, in anonymised responses. \u201cIt\u2019s putting profit before community and will be nothing but disruptive to the area.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The crescent loops around shared garden, where residents\u00a0meet every Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents had been looking forward to welcoming new permanent residents to the community after the closure of the hotel in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These hopes have now been thwarted, however, and new transient visitors will be introduced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

James Garry, assistant director of the Cockburn Association urged councillors to refuse consent for short-term lets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said he\u00a0considered\u00a0 the\u00a0proposal \u201cunacceptable in principle and detrimental to the long-term sustainability and character of the New Town.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The local constituency MSP, Ben Macpherson, said:\u201cThis proposed development seems at odds with\u00a0the character of the neighbourhood and the clear need in the city for more, permanent housing for residents. I am sympathetic to concerns that my constituents have raised about these proposals, and that high density occupancy in commercial short-term lets could detrimentally impact the area, particularly the quality of life of those living on and around the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Price of the New Town and Broughton Community Council said he was \u201csurprised and disappointed\u201d to see the application switched from residential to STL properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added\u00a0local residents\u00a0were \u201cunderstandably extremely annoyed and frustrated and opposed to this late proposed change of use and rue the support that they (had) given to the developers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former Times journalist, Mike Wade, 65,\u00a0has also spoken out against the proposals, describing the development to Edinburgh Live\u00a0as an \u201cabsolute disaster\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Claremont Crescent was designed by William Burn, the architect of Edinburgh Academy and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern\u00a0Art, and\u00a0constructed in the 1820s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Famous past residents\u00a0include Eduardo\u00a0Paolozzi, the artist, and Stuart Sutcliffe, the \u201cfifth Beatle\u201d,\u00a0while one property in the Crescent is said to have been a base for Arthur Scargill, the president of the NUM, during the 1984-85 miner\u2019s strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edinburgh Council\u2019s Development Management Sub-Committee will meet on Wednesday to vote on the plans.<\/p>\n

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