THE BRIEF

Supporting planning approval for a new Premier Inn in a highly sensitive Edinburgh city centre location.

Orbit Communications was appointed by Whitbread to deliver stakeholder and community engagement in support of proposals to convert Capital House, on Festival Square in Edinburgh city centre into a new Premier Inn.

The proposals sought planning permission to convert and extend the vacant 65,350 sq ft office building to create a 195-bedroom Premier Inn, including a ground-floor restaurant and bar. Whitbread plans to invest £21 million in the redevelopment, bringing the prominent 1980s building back into productive use.

Our Approach

  • Developed and delivered a targeted stakeholder and community engagement strategy to support the planning application.
  • Engaged proactively with local stakeholders and the surrounding community, helping build awareness and understanding of the proposals.
  • Built support among tourism and business organisations, demonstrating the benefits of the proposed hotel investment to Edinburgh’s visitor economy and wider city centre
  • Communicated the benefits of bringing a prominent vacant building back into use and securing significant investment in Edinburgh city centre.
  • Worked closely with Whitbread and the wider project team throughout the planning process, responding to local issues and helping minimise the potential for opposition.

Outputs & Outcomes

  • Successfully engaged local stakeholders and the community around proposals for a highly sensitive city centre location.
  • Secured valuable third-party support from tourism and business organisations, such as the Scottish Tourism Alliance and UK Hospitality Scotland, reinforcing the economic and visitor-economy case for the development.
  • Helped build understanding of the proposals, with no significant local opposition emerging during the planning process.
  • The absence of opposition helped enable the application to be determined positively under delegated powers rather than requiring consideration by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Development Management Sub-Committee (planning committee).