Heads have been in the sand for far too long over housing and student accommodation - John McLellan

Two different plans went before the council’s development management committee, both were recommended for approval by the planning officers, and both were thrown out on split decisions on what sounded like spurious grounds to assuage the NSIMBY campaigns which spring up wherever a scheme is proposed.

Out went the Jock’s Lodge plan to build a block with 191 rooms and a new bar and restaurant, and out went another scheme for 80 studio flats at Lower Gilmore Place overlooking the canal.

Without reading every one of over 1,000 objections to the Jock’s Lodge plan, I’d wager most said they don’t mind students, just not in that part of town, and that affordable housing should be a priority.

Perhaps stung by the criticism which followed the granting of permission to turn the old Tynecastle High School buildings into student accommodation, the message councillors sent to developers is that no matter how much they might engage with officers to ensure plans comply with policy, a majority of planning councillors are operating by different rules.

Both are likely to be subject of appeals to the Scottish Government, and the implication of the decisions is such that local applications are only a stepping-stone to a ruling at national level.

Yet the very next day, the full council debated the same subject, calling for the council, universities and other interested parties to work together to address the “crisis” and make sure student demand for accommodation was properly met.

Student campaigners point out a fifth of second to fifth year undergraduates in Edinburgh do not have a tenancy agreement in place by the start of the academic year, and over eight per cent are still in limbo five weeks into term, statistics of which planning councillors should have been aware because the information was available to them before their meeting on Wednesday.

It seems somewhat hypocritical to throw out plans for managed accommodation one day and then wring hands about sofa-surfing students the next, just as it is to champion access to higher education and then remain in denial about the implications for the term-time population.

At least we now know there are regular meetings between officers and the university authorities to discuss planning matters, but such discussions are clearly not producing enough solutions which get anywhere near to relieving the increasing pressure.

The problem is that no location is ever the right location. Nearly ten years ago an energetic campaign was fought to stop a new block in St Leonards even though it was a five-minute walk from Edinburgh University. The arguments have not changed and if not there, then where?

It is true the universities need to take more responsibility for the demand they create, just as the SNP must accept responsibility for the financial implications of free tuition fees which makes recruiting high-fee-paying overseas post-graduates an economic necessity.

Of course, Edinburgh needs much more affordable housing in a city where demand far outstrips supply, but it is unreasonable to pretend all demands for accommodation – domestic, educational and tourist ─ can be met without saying where and how many. Edinburgh’s head has been in the sand for far too long.