PLANS have been launched for the demolishment of a 19th century Edinburgh hotel to make way for the build of new student accommodation.
Audley (Edinburgh) Ltd is behind the proposed development at the current site of the Northfield House Hotel, which dates back to 1870s.
A statement accompanying the plans read, “The hotel is currently closed but was previously operating on an ad- hoc basis for private functions prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The kitchen and dining facilities were also previously closed to non- residents. The owners have reviewed the business model for the hotel and have concluded that the retention of the existing house is not viable. The inflexibility of the existing house does not lend itself to suitable conversion to provide sufficient, modern facilities to be competitive within the Edinburgh service industry.
“The house provides a limited internal floor area compared to its large plot size. We have reviewed options for extending the building however due to the small scale of the house and its position on site there is limited opportunity to provide a suitable increase in density. The proposal is to demolish the house to make way for a new purpose built development. The house is not listed and there is limited architectural merit to warrant retention.”
