The City of Edinburgh Council gave the green light for a mixed-use development by Artisan Real Estate for 256 low-carbon homes and commercial space at 525 Ferry Road.

While councillors on the council’s development management sub committee were ‘minded to grant’ consent, they also resolved to increase the Section 75 education contribution from the £1m recommended by planning officers to £3m.

Initially, the eleven councillors voted between three options that were presented to the committee. Four of them voted in favour of the development with the recommended Section 75 education contribution of £1m, and another four voted in favour of the development but with the newly tabled condition of increasing the education contribution to £3m. The other three, including committee convenor Councillor Hal Osler, voted to reject the planning application altogether.

Following a split vote, the option with the least amount of votes was removed from the table and another round of voting was held between the two remaining options - planning permission with a £1m education contribution and planning permission with a £3m education contribution. All councillors who had previously voted against the development abstained at this stage, resulting in another tie. At this point, committee convenor Councillor Osler was given the chance to cast a deciding vote but opted not to exercise this as she was not in favour of the development at all.

This meant the decision to approve the application and increase the Section 75 education contribution to £3m was made on the toss of a coin.

Commenting on the outcome, David Westwater, Scottish regional director for Artisan Real Estate, told Scottish Construction Now: “While we welcome the ‘minded to grant’ decision by councillors for our transformational development at 525 Ferry Road, we now need to consider carefully our next steps following the resolution to increase the Section 75 education contribution significantly over and above that recommended by the council’s planning officers.

“A threefold increase in Section 75 education contribution to £3m would challenge the viability of any development – especially at a time when the residential market is still struggling to come to terms with the impact of higher interest rates on mortgages and developers are facing increased build and construction finance costs. This decision could delay or put in jeopardy the delivery of this much needed housing in Edinburgh which we had hoped would significantly address the city’s well publicised ‘housing emergency’.”

Mr Westwater added that Artisan’s transformational development - which was recommended for approval by CEC’s planning officers following an 18-month planning and consultation process - was set to deliver a sustainable homes-led redevelopment of one of Edinburgh city centre’s largest potential development sites.

“We have set out an ambitious vision to transform this vacant site into a new residential neighbourhood providing 256 much needed sustainable homes - 65 of which are for affordable housing,” he said. “There is also provision for flexible commercial space facing onto Ferry Road, creating potential for cafes, shops and shared workspaces.

“This is a significant project providing much-needed new homes and commercial space to a vacant brownfield city centre site. We will continue work closely with the council whilst maintaining our ongoing commitment to bring investment, excitement and life to this important gateway to Edinburgh’s city centre.”

The City of Edinburgh Council has been contacted for comment but assured that the practice of deciding a tied vote by drawing lots is allowed by law.