Forest Cafe wins first fight against plans to redevelop its Edinburgh home
The Forest Cafe in Edinburgh, home to Forest Fringe during August’s festivals, has won the first skirmish in its battle to remain at Bristo Place after a planning application to convert the building into flats was withdrawn.
The former church, which has listed building status, was put up for sale as a “development opportunity” with an asking price of around £950,000 in October when its owners, the Edinburgh University Settlement, went into administration. The application for Listed Building Consent to convert the premises into “ten HMO bedsits, three private flats and additional business lease space” was withdrawn on Monday.
“It is our first small victory but it shows massive grass roots support for what we are trying to achieve,” Forest founding member Chris Palmer told The Stage. “I spoke to the architects this morning and they have withdrawn the application and will not be resubmitting it. Although who knows what the developers themselves will do.”
The withdrawal of the application does not form a precedent, however. This would have put the Forest in a better bargaining position as it seeks to reduce the price of the building while it raises funds to purchase the premises itself.
The fight against this particular application, which was lodged on November 12, began when, on Thursday November 25, the Forest initiated a comprehensive campaign against the proposal through its website and Facebook group. More than 150 detailed objections were lodged with the council before the decision to withdraw was taken, with only one statement in support of the proposal.
“If there are other applications we will fight them in a similar manner,” Palmer promised The Stage. “It lets us know that we can fight them off this way, it can be successful. It sends a message to developers that this isn’t a development opportunity – this is a community space, as it has been for 100 years. Before us it was a church and another community space used it as well.”
The Forest is now taking its fund-raising campaign up to a national level, having raised almost £10,000 in donations in three weeks. With a target of £500,000, it has also had larger offers of financial support in the form of investment and is working out how best to utilise them.
Further details are on the Forest website: http://theforest.org.uk