Plans for an Edinburgh city centre Wetherspoon to build a first floor terrace with seating and tables are set to be rejected.
The ambitious plans for the Caley Picture House, on Lothian Road, would see the first floor adapted to facilitate a spacious balcony over-looking the busy street for the use of customers between 8am-11pm.
With the building in question Category B-Listed and located within a conservation area, planning officials have raised doubts over the preservation of the former theatre and the fact the feature would be "visually intrusive."
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Visualisations of the proposed terrace, submitted in November 2022, indicate how it would extend to the west of the building and above nearby bars Badabing, NQ64 and Red Squirrel.
In a planning statement on behalf of J D Wetherspoon, it states that the development seeks to adapt the existing balcony area to the front of the building at first-floor level to accommodate an external customer terrace with seating, tables, planters and floor up-lighting.
Access to the proposed terrace would be facilitated by the creation of a new doorway within the existing central window opening. In order to protect the proposed customer terrace, a new balustrade would be affixed to the existing parapet, which will in turn be repaired and restored.
It continues: "The Proposed Development customer will increase the amenity of the Caley Picture House, improving the customer experience and allowing customers to experience the building in a new light.
"The use of the, at present, defunct balcony area will increase the capacity of the building and afford a greater level of engagement with the surrounding streetscape. The introduction of the balcony experience will be in fitting with the values the building encapsulates and with the wider values of the Conservation Area in which it is situated – as a cultural hub within the City of Edinburgh."
However, planning officers have recommended that councillors vote to deny permission for the terrace during a meeting on Wednesday, March 15.
An extract of the agenda ahead of the meeting notes: "The proposal is contrary to NPF4 Policy 7 as the proposal would not preserve the character, special architectural or historic interest of the listed building and would not preserve the special character and appearance of the conservation area.
"The proposal is contrary to NPF4 Policy 14 and LDP Policies Des 1 and Des 12 as the proposals would detract from the local architectural style and not be compatible with the character of the existing building."
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