Studios sold by council for £1 could become student flats

Buildings sold by Edinburgh Council for £1 could be turned into student flats under new plans.

The former artists’ studios on West Park Place in Dalry shut last year forcing around 50 tenants, some of whom had been there for over 20 years, to move out.

Now the site is being eyed for redevelopment as purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) with 135 beds. Plans are expected to be submitted soon.

Working Artists Studio Provision Scotland (WASPS) was able to buy the property for £1 in 2021 following a 25-year lease of the two former factory buildings from the council.

The subsequent sale to Viridis Real Estate allowed the charity to purchase Riverside House on Gorgie Road as replacement studio provision, with spaces offered to creatives previously based at West Park Place. A clause in the original agreement said the proceeds of a resale by Wasps must help fund new artist accommodation for the city, or half of the sale price could be clawed-back by the local authority.

A spokesperson for Viridis said Riverside House was “much improved fit-for-purpose accommodation”. They added the redevelopment would deliver “135 much-needed bedspaces to address the current student housing crisis”.

However a local councillor said the new place didn’t suit all artists previously based in Dalry as rents were “significantly higher” and it was two miles further out from the city centre, and claimed as a result some were now “looking to leave Edinburgh”.

Tenants fought back against eviction and a petition to ‘save our studios’ gathered 2,000 signatures.

It stated: “These historic buildings should not be sold off to be developed, as is sadly likely, into yet more purpose-built student accommodation.

“Our area is already saturated and this would not meet the real need for housing for local people.”

One of the artists campaigning to stop the closure, Jill Martin Boualaxai, said last year: “When the building was bought by WASPS in 2021, we understood it was under the proviso it remained as an art space . . . we were also told the studios would be renovated.”

WASPS said a “perfect storm” of rising costs and defunding meant remaining at West Park Place was not an option, citing a £4m bill to bring the buildings up to scratch.

It said: “The best way to guarantee a future for our 70 artists is to find a new affordable, sustainable home that meets modern building standards and is accessible for all.”

But arts and cultural community group, Gorgie Collective, said many artists at West Park Place “didn’t want to be ejected from a community in which they’d worked for decades” and “felt it was sold out from under them” by the council and WASPS.

Ross McKenzie, independent councillor for Sighthill-Gorgie said: “The story of the artists studios on West Park Place sums up the state of Edinburgh today.

“The value that student housing developers can extract from sites close to the city centre means that locals are priced out of living and working in the area. In this case, artists have literally been evicted and it’s no surprise to see multinational developers swoop in to take on the site soon after.

“WASPS will claim that the sale allows them to provide better accommodation for artists, but the new building is over two miles further out from the City Centre and the rents are significantly higher.

“I have met with artists who just can’t afford these higher rents and are now looking to leave Edinburgh.

“I will be examining the planning application closely when it is submitted. In the past, the developers’ PR man may have been able to schmooze local councillors into supporting proposals that don’t comply with planning regulations, but that hasn’t happened since I’ve been elected.

“If the proposals don’t comply with the new City Plan and if they don’t have the support of the local community then we will fight them and we will win.”

A spokesperson for Viridis Real Estate, said: “We are pleased to be bringing forward proposals for high-quality new student homes at West Park Place, delivering 135 much-needed bedspaces to address the current student housing crisis.

“A report from the Scottish Parliament cross party group on housing, among others, has identified such a crisis. Indeed, according to the National Union of Students (NUS), in 2023 one in 10 students reported having experienced homelessness in the past, and additionally this has affected more than a fifth of all international students.

“Insufficient housing supply has been exacerbated by increasing student numbers. Between 2016/17 and 2022/23, the number of full-time students at Edinburgh’s universities have risen by just under a quarter, and many of these are taking up homes that, in many cases, are more appropriate for families.

“Our proposals will free up the equivalent of 45 three-bedroom homes, or at a minimum, ensure that students are not moving into these homes.

“A student concentration assessment is being prepared, but the concentration of students living in the area is below the 50 per cent capacity level outlined in the Council’s planning guidance, above which there is deemed to be a risk of there being an impact on the balance of the community.

“The building at West Park Place was previously owned by Working Artists Studio Provision Scotland (WASPS), a charity that is the UK’s largest provider of workspaces for artists and the creative industries.

“Due to significant structural deterioration, with safe use of the building becoming severely restricted and impractical, this led to unsustainable maintenance costs, and it was put on the market in 2023.

“Our purchase of the site has enabled WASPS to invest in much improved fit-for-purpose accommodation across the city.

“While not a statutory requirement, we look forward to engaging with the community on our proposals.”