![\"Claremont](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.deadlinenews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/claremont-crescent.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Claremont Crescent (pictured above), could now see an influx of short-term visitors (C) Google<\/p>\nThe council voted to approve the conversion\u00a0at a meeting of the Development Management Sub-Committee today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Councillors emphasised the fact that the historical usage of the townhouse is as a hotel,\u00a0and that the change of use is from\u00a0commercial usage to commercial\u00a0usage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Claremont Hotel forms part of a terrace\u00a0on Claremont Crescent, a residential side-street in\u00a0Canonmills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Residents have been fighting against the STL\u00a0since plans were outlined, saying that S1 Developments have u-turned after pledging to convert the hotel into permanent flats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
45\u00a0objections\u00a0were\u00a0lodged\u00a0with the council\u00a0regarding\u00a0the plans, with a local\u00a0MSP, the\u00a0Cockburn Association\u00a0\u2013 Edinburgh\u2019s civic trust \u2013 and the\u00a0New Town\u00a0and Broughton Community Council\u00a0all\u00a0speaking out against the revised plans.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One resident, who did not want to be named\u00a0said that he felt he and his neighbours had been \u201cshafted\u201d by the property developers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI\u2019m\u00a0obviously\u00a0very disappointed,\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0been totally duped by S1.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all supported the original\u00a0application, which would have brought more housing into the area \u2013 amid a housing emergency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy big frustration was what the planner presenting the application was saying \u2013 I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0believe it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A council planning officer, who\u00a0presented\u00a0the application to the council, claimed at one point that the footfall of the STL flats would be lessened as there would no longer be a bar area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bar at the Claremont Hotel\u00a0has not\u00a0operated\u00a0for ten years.\u00a0The planning officer also claimed that the hotel consisted of just four floors, when the hotel\u00a0actually has\u00a0five.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The resident added that he felt councillors, as well as the planning officer, were\u00a0ill-informed about the application\u00a0and overworked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said that he and other residents were looking at steps they could take to appeal the decision, including a judicial review.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added that he expected the developers to cut their losses sell the property soon after receiving planning consent due to the amount of money they had already sunk into it and the amount of time the planning process has taken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just feel completely\u00a0shafted,\u00a0they do these conversions\u00a0just\u00a0to sell them on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
S1 Developments<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for S1 Developments said:\u00a0\u201cWe are clearly delighted that planning permission has been granted, subject to conditions, for transforming what it should be remembered was already a hotel, The Claremont Hotel, into seven high-quality serviced apartments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese will provide flexible accommodation and be well-suited to Edinburgh\u2019s business travellers and\u00a0tourists, fully\u00a0refurbishing the building and preserving the property\u2019s historic features.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe serviced apartments will host substantially fewer guests than when it operated as a hotel, thereby reducing impacts on residential amenity, and we look forward to engaging with the community as we progress the delivery of our apartments.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The capacity of the hotel would be reduced from 50 people to 28 people under the new plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Previously, local MSP Ben MacPherson spoke out against plans, saying: \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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sympathetic to concerns that my constituents have raised about these proposals, and that high density occupancy in commercial short-term\u00a0lets\u00a0could detrimentally\u00a0impact\u00a0the area, particularly the quality of life of those living on and around the street.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The application was approved six\u00a0votes to four.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many councillors pointed out that, whatever they may feel about the application, the\u00a0grounds for refusing the application were very thin, given the site\u2019s historical use as a hotel.\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\u00a0<\/p>\n
Famous past residents\u00a0include Sir 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.<\/p>\n
Like this:<\/p>\n
Like Loading…<\/p>\n