Tuesday April 14th 2020
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A bid to turn empty retail space in the centre of Dalkeith into a community hub has been given the go-ahead.
One Dalkeith has been working to create a space which will bring community cinema and events to the centre of the Midlothian town.
The development trust, which is made up of local residents, has had providing a community facility at the heart of its projects to improve what is on offer.
Now it has been granted planning permission for a change of use for the former furniture store on Eskdaill Court, with short-term plans to open it for community activities and plans to introduce some business opportunities and start-up officers to support the trust’s work.
A statement on the proposals said examples of the activities which would initially take place in the new centre and were already publicly funded included community cinemas, craft markets, board game clubs and seasonally-themed family events.
Approving the change of use, the planning officer noted: “In the future, areas of the unit will be used for offices and start-up units which would operate during business hours.”
And they pointed out that there had been no objections to the proposals lodged.
They said: “The proposal is for community facilities including offices and space for business start-ups which the Scottish Government encourages in town centres, as well as community projects and flexible spaces in town centres which could be used for different cultural events and exhibitions.
“The proposed use as a community hub facility is an acceptable use in this town centre as this will add to the variety of uses that improves the vitality of the area, including in the evenings.”
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