The development will offer 248 bedrooms in two buildings made up of 35 studio rooms and a mixture of cluster apartments, ranging from six to 10 bedrooms. It will benefit from a wide range of amenities including study rooms, a games area, gym, cinema, laundry and secure cycle storage for every resident, as well as incorporating quality soft landscaping, connecting the buildings to the riverbank.

The site previously housed several industrial units that have been demolished. The planning decision follows a successful appeal by York-based development company S Harrison after the development was initially turned down by councillors. Work will start early next year and will complete in time for the September 2022 intake of students.

David Clancy, development director at S Harrison, said: “We are delighted with this decision and look forward to transforming this brownfield site into a high-quality student accommodation scheme.

“It coincides with many of the city’s universities unveiling ambitious growth plans and is in a highly sought-after location between several Edinburgh Napier University buildings and within easy reach of The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University. Crucially it also has excellent sustainable public transport links on the doorstep.

“There’s no doubt this development will enhance the vibrancy of the area. It will be home to hundreds of socially active residents, which will benefit the local economy, whilst helping to free up general housing stock, in accordance with The City of Edinburgh Council’s student guidance.”

S Harrison has made a significant investment in Edinburgh in recent years and is currently exploring further opportunities across Scotland’s central belt.

The company’s pipeline of new work in Scotland includes another student accommodation scheme that will offer 394-bedrooms, on the corner of Westfield Road and Westfield Avenue, close to Murrayfield Stadium. S Harrison also has been given planning permission for a stunning new hotel on Osborne Terrace that will see a 1970s office building within the Wester Coates area, transformed into a new 157-bedroom hotel, with a restaurant and bar on the ground floor. The developer is also exploring opportunities for a 0.6-hectare site on Ocean Drive in Leith.

At the end of last year, the company completed work transforming Grade A listed Buchan House, on the north-west corner of St Andrew Square, in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, into a magnificent new boutique hotel for Malmaison.