Plans for abandoned Edinburgh pizza restaurant to be turned into hotel in Leith

43 assembly street
-Credit:Google maps


Plans have been submitted to turn an abandoned Edinburgh pizza restaurant into a hotel with a garden for guests.

The site, at 43 Assembly Street, Leith, has been advertised on the market as a restaurant since May 2021 and as an office since July 2023, with no suitors coming forward to purchase the building.

Previous plans were submitted in 2022 to change the use of the building to offices and flats, but were eventually withdrawn.

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Visser & Co Ltd has now teamed up with Ferguson Planning to propose a change of use from restaurant to hotel. If successful, the development would result in a ten-bedroom aparthotel.

Of the ten serviced apartments, five would be two-bedroom and the remaining five will have one bedroom. All 10 will have kitchen facilities and living areas with the building including a reception, linen cupboard, shared meeting space and an external garden.

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Included in the plans is the addition of a two-storey extension to the building. Plans for the extension were previously granted by the council in November 2024.

A planning statement submitted to council planners states: "The existing building has been advertised on the market as a restaurant use from May 2021 and as an office since July 2023 with no interest from prospective tenants for either of these uses.

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"A letter from the applicant’s office agent, Graham and Sibbald, has been submitted with the application, which confirms that all appropriate avenues to market the building for office use have been explored, but without success.

"Given the demand for short-stay accommodation within the city centre, a commercial apart hotel is now proposed. A management plan has been submitted for the apart hotel, which Altido will run on behalf of the applicant. The plan describes how the apart hotel will be professionally operated and guests managed to further safeguard the amenity of neighbouring residents."

The application can be viewed on the council's online planning portal here.