Tuesday November 11th 2025
Office in Bonnyrigg High Street to be turned into housing
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Plans to turn an office above a town centre cafe into housing have been given the go-ahead after experts said cooking smells from downstairs would be ‘negligible’.
The proposals for the business on Bonnyrigg High Street will see the first floor office turned into a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) with four bedrooms and a living area, however planners insisted an odours assessment was carried out first after warning smells and noise from hot food establishments could have a negative impact on future tenants.
Now Midlothian Council has approve the proposals after applicants Property Services Limited brought in experts to monitor the cafe’s ventilation over a lunchtime and found it would have almost no impact on the upstairs.
A report by planners said: “The assessment concluded that the
overall exposure of odours was negligible to small at the monitored locations within the application site.
“Potential odours emanating through the separating floor were considered but no odours were detectable through this pathway. This was reviewed by the Council’s Senior Manager Protective Services and was considered acceptable and as such, there are no concerns relating to odours coming from the café below.”
Officers also ruled that the loss of the office to housing would not have a negative impact on the town centre as it did not have a high footfall in the first place.
And they said there were no concerns about a lack of parking because of access to public transport at the location.
They said: “The planning authority is generally supportive of residential properties above commercial units and within town centres, but not at the expense of commercial uses.
“The proposed change of use will not impact the existing ground floor use and does not result in any loss of a high footfall use.
“The principle of residential properties, including HMOs, within the town centre is appropriate. A residential use will not have a detrimental impact on the amenity of properties in the surrounding area.”
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