The Stead’s Place site has been earmarked for development by the City of Edinburgh Council since 2008 and consists largely of an aged industrial estate and office space, together with a two-storey sandstone building facing directly on to Leith Walk.

As part of Drum’s Proposal of Application Notice (PAN), the sandstone building will be retained and refurbished and made available for a range of commercial uses. The existing industrial units located directly behind Leith Walk are to be demolished and replaced with a new residential-led landscaped development linking to Pilrig Park and beyond.

Due to the current restrictions on social movement due to coronavirus, Drum is currently seeking advice from both the council and the Scottish Government about future public consultation opportunities.

Welcoming this latest phase of the Stead’s Place redevelopment, Graeme Bone, group managing director of Drum Property Group, said: “We remain 100% committed to investing in and improving the whole Stead’s Place site, and are looking forward to this next stage of planning consultation.”

Commenting on future plans for any public consultation on the Stead’s Place site, Mr Bone added: “Given the current restrictions on public movement and meetings caused by the coronavirus, we are seeking council and government guidance about the most effective way of delivering public consultation for the PAN over the coming months. This could include using a dedicated website and comprehensive online consultation methods if it is not possible to hold a drop-in exhibition or other public event.”

The developer had previously planned to demolish the two-storey red sandstone shop frontages and industrial units and replace it with a five-storey facility compromising 471 student room accommodation, 56 bedroom hotel, 53 affordable flats, a café as well as business and retail units.

This proposal had been comprehensively revised from the original plans following an extensive consultation programme with the Leith Walk community.

A decision by the council in February 2019 to refuse permission for the demolition and the subsequent development of the building was subsequently appealed by Drum.

However, both appeals were dismissed by the Scottish Government in December.