The Edinburgh Reporter August 2024

14 BUSINESS NEWS

THE RESIDENT EDINBURGH created

from the former unsightly VAT office,

will have open views from its upper

floors over the whole city, from the

Castle to the Firth of Forth.

The West End hotel on Drumsheugh

Gardens is getting ready to welcome

guests from 1 September with rooms

available to book now. This latest

opening adds the first Scottish

destination to the hotel brand’s four

hotels in London and one in Liverpool.

The hotel is just a short walk from

both Princes Street and Charlotte

Square in the heart of the capital,

combining the heartfelt hospitality The

Resident is known for with a distinct

Scottish warmth.

All 164 rooms and suites are

designed for the home from home

experience with mini-kitchens in every

room and great natural light. Guest

rooms have been specially crafted

expecting guests to stay a bit longer

than usual. Overall, the hotel has a

“cultured thoughtful elegance

befitting the prime location and the

world destination status of Scotland’s

capital city”. From Double Rooms to

Junior Suites averaging between 17

and 35 square metres, rooms have a

range of great Edinburgh views

including the city skyline, Edinburgh

Castle and exceptional views north

towards Fife over the Firth of Forth.

https://www.residenthotels.com/

In residence

Busy at “Harburn Halt”

HARBURN HOBBIES’ OWNERS on Leith
Walk say they are busier than they have been
for decades - in spite of admitting that the
tramworks were a “pain”.
Despite the disruption caused by the tram
works - with contractors digging up Leith Walk
not just once but twice, current owner Bob
Baird says business has never been better - and
he says the improvement in sales is partly down
to having the tram stop outside the front door.
The model railway shop which has been in
business since before the Second World War
has cheekily dubbed the nearby McDonald
Road tram stop as“Harburn Halt”.
Bob began working at the family firm in 1966
as a Saturday boy just after his family acquired
the business. And he freely admits that the
period of construction was both “very difficult
and very long”.
He said: “We have one of the original posters
here in the shop which was on the wire fence
outside. It says “Taking you to the shops in
2011” and it was 2023 when it actually arrived
here. Originally the construction was to begin at
the foot of Leith Walk and they were going to lay
the slabs all the way up.” He said that during the
works deliveries were a bit of a problem,
although they are “not so bad now”.
During the last year the roadworks became
quite “intense” and Bob said that period was a
challenge but he explained that some of the
tram workers were kind enough to help with
deliveries to the shop.
While the period of disruption led to a loss
of some in person customers, Bob said he saw
it as an opportunity and the business rose to
the challenge. He said: “We had to work to
refocus, and not just do the usual. We had to go
out and get business, so we used the internet
and media such as the model railway
magazines which brought in business from all

over the world. Even during Covid we ran the

mail order side from the shop which was

otherwise closed to the public. We worked quite

hard sending all the orders - including jigsaw

puzzles which were very popular.” Bob said they

have always been inventive with stock - and now

they have “First class” LNER cushions for the

Retailer of the Year award tops a good year for model railway shop

real rail enthusiast.

With the tram line to Newhaven open Bob

said that they have more regular customers

visiting the shop again, including an American

airline pilot who gets onto the tram at the

airport to come and pick up the latest piece of

kit. Cruise ship passengers are also more

regular customers. Bob said he has almost

forgotten what it was like to have a building site

outside the front door.

The company has more than 8,000 products

for sale in the shop and online, and won

Bachmann’s Retailer of the Year Award 2023.

Bachmann is one of the main model train

manufacturers making kits for all rail buffs

with buildings and scene craft to make the

model railway really come to life. Bachmann

visited Harburn Halt to hand over a shield

which is proudly displayed in the shop.

Bob Baird has worked at the shop

since he was a Saturday boy

Harburn Halt

Planning News

Madelvic House and the factory

next to it in Granton is a historically

important building used formerly as

the Madelvic Car Factory - the

oldest purpose-built car factory in

the UK, opened 1898 by the

Madelvic Motor Carriage Co which

built electric vehicles. The house is

the Granton Hub used by many

organisations, and now moves to

redevelop the factory buildings are

beginning. The planning

application outlines 28 townhouses

for Lar Housing Trust designed by

Hippostyle Architects with

“associated external fabric repairs

including new roof and external

works”. 24/03038/FUL

Planning permission was refused

recently for internal and external

alterations at Filmhouse on Lothian

Road. As well as advertising outside

which has been in place for months,

there are plans to create an

additional 22 seat auditorium,

install new seating throughout with

the overall capacity reduced from

443 to 292. It was the outside

advertising banners which caused

the problem as the scale was

deemed unacceptable.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh

Filmhouse said: ““There were three

elements bundled together in the

application – two concerning the

external advertising and one

concerning the internal

refurbishment. The bundle has

been rejected, but we’ll be clarifying

the position regarding element of

the internal works on its own as we

believe there is nothing proposed

there to cause concern.” It is

expected that the applications will

be reconsidered and the internal

works will hopefully be given the go

ahead allowing the cinema to be

brought back to life.

The revised application for

student housing on Dunedin Street

has been approved after initial

refusal. The Cockburn Association

objected to the new scheme saying

it was unsympathetic with local

build character and lacked internal

or external amenity space, lack of

private or public green space and

poor integration of waste and

recycling facilities.This is one of the

first applications we have read

which has provision for swift boxes

included in the application. The

swifts have departed Edinburgh for

the summer, and their numbers are

dwindling.

Plans have been submitted for a

gap site on Piershill Terrace,

currently a garage which would be

demolished, to build a 22 room

aparthotel there with front and

back of house areas, landscaping

and access.24/03370/FUL

Plans for a skate park and other

improvements at West Pilton Park

have been submitted 24/03310/FUL

Former Madelvic car factory