People power forces Edinburgh Council re-think on student flats

Controversial student housing plans which sparked a public backlash have been withdrawn by developers after a storm of protest.

Residents had rallied against ScotMid’s proposals to knock down its store on Gorgie Road and rebuild it with a block of 121 student flats above it. The plans received 131 objections from local residents and was expected to be determined by Edinburgh City Council’s development management sub-committee on Wednesday.

But in a letter to planners, the applicant gave notice to withdraw the planning application “with immediate effect” and asked for the proposals to be removed from the agenda.