The company’s latest proposals for Stead’s Place, near the foot of Leith Walk, were today approved by the City of Edinburgh Council, heralding a major regeneration of the 2.9-acre site.

The Stead’s Place site has been earmarked for development by the council since 2008 and consists largely of an aged industrial estate and office space, together with a two-storey sandstone building facing directly on to Leith Walk. Drum will now replace the existing industrial units with 148 high-quality apartments, including 38 affordable homes, as part of an attractive landscaped residential scheme linking to Pilrig Park and beyond.

The sandstone building, a bone of contention within previous plans, will be retained and refurbished and made available for commercial occupation, providing a vibrant local retail and business frontage onto Leith Walk.

The planning consent is the culmination of four years of research, planning and local community engagement by Drum since the company first purchased the site in 2017. The current proposal follows a comprehensive six-month consultation programme with the local residential and business community, with almost three-quarters of those consulted either supportive or neutral about the revised plans.

Welcoming the planning approval, Graeme Bone, group managing director of Drum, said: “Drum has worked hard to ensure our current proposals are aligned with the objectives and plans of local community groups. We listened carefully to their views, enabling us to draw on the positive characteristics of the surrounding area to create a real sense of place that features a mix of private and affordable housing with a refurbished, vibrant and dynamic retail frontage facing Leith Walk.

“Our proposals will replace old and tired industrial, office and retail space with new, more flexible, higher quality accommodation for people to live, work, shop, eat, drink and to be entertained in - as well as opening up a safe and landscaped thoroughfare connecting Leith Walk to Pilrig Park. We believe we have responded directly to the objectives and vision the community has for the site. Our proposals now offer the optimum solution for all parties, providing a refurbished retail and office parade combined with a new community of housing to the rear, set in landscaped grounds, enhancing the area’s distinctive cultural feel and identity.”

Drum said it is now committed to ensuring the shop frontages on to Leith Walk retain the current individual style and size, reflecting and supporting the current local small trader units at the site whilst refurbishing the office suites for rent on the first floor in a revamped business centre offering.

Stead’s Place development timeline: