In separate cases, two locals are lodging appeals against what they consider unjust rejections of planning proposals by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Bibulous Delights Ltd, the company behind the Smoke Stack on Broughton Street, is appealing to the Scottish Government against the Council's rejection of its proposed new shopfront (Breaking news 21.3.11; 16.5.11).
The firm cites nearby precedents, and claims that its plans would enhance the built environment. It believes that exposure of stone pillars was wrongly not considered as restoration, and that the proposals – if approved – would ensure 'long-term sustainability for the business and its employees'. See http://bit.ly/k7qvfm.
The second case involves a private individual. When we first covered this resident's planning application to increase window sizes and create a rooftop viewing platform in Bellevue Terrace, we predicted 'disquiet' (Breaking news 7.2.11) and were not mistaken.
Now – following the Council's comprehensive refusal of consent (Breaking news 28.3.11) – the unsuccessful applicant is refusing to give up without a fight.
In a letter to the Directorate for Planning & Environmental Appeals, his agent states that:
The foregoing appeal submission is premised on the [Council] Case Officer's
subjective application of planning policy following extensive pre-application dialogue which included the Head of Planning. Moreover, these negotiations had reached a documented conseus (evidenced herein) which culminated in [the client] committing significant resources to the planning application that was to follow.
Those interested can follow the paper trail at http://bit.ly/l8Y0vu.
In both cases, target decision dates have been set for September 2011.