Friday October 31st 2025
Dune Bakery owner Lewis Gillon
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
An Edinburgh bakery’s effort to establish a second location might yet be saved after councillors voted to review a decision to not grant them a lease.
The council backed out on a lease with South Queensferry’s Dune Bakery the day it was to be signed – after the spot already spent £20,000 on negotiations and legal fees.
But at Thursday’s full council meeting, councillors backed a motion by Liberal Democrat councillor Lewis Younie to refer the decision to a council committee.
Lewis Gill, the bakery’s owner, said he was pleased with the decision, continuing: “I’m very happy that everyone decided to vote in favour of Cllr Younie’s motion postponing the decision, barring the Conservatives.
“I hope that common sense will prevail here, it would be a win-win and put the community’s faith back in the council.”
The bakery had won a bid to take over a council-owned space on the Loan in South Queensferry.
Its operators planned to open the space with a community-oriented area inside, which Mr Gill looked to use for a local market.
But council officers went back on the plans to issue them a lease late this month, saying they needed the space for archives.
Cllr Younie said: “The way Dune has been treated is simply unacceptable, especially after the excitement surrounding their expansion plans and the work already undertaken to prepare for the new premises.
“Over recent days, we have been pressing council officials to reconsider their decision and allow Dune to proceed with the lease. Officers are, however, standing by their position.
“In response, my Liberal Democrat group and I tabled an emergency motion at today’s meeting of Edinburgh Council to pause the officers’ plans and get this in front of the relevant committee on 18th November to re-examine the decision.
“We stand fully behind Dune Bakery and share the concerns they have raised. We will continue to do everything we can to support not only Dune and their customers, but Queensferry as a whole.”
Mr Gill has faced a rocky road in reaching South Queensferry, where Dune opened early last year near the waterfront in a converted bookies.
He ran the Plant Bae bakery in Leith, as well as Grams – but was forced to shutter both in the aftermath of Covid.
But the baker was positive about the new space, which he said would bring benefits to the town.
Mr Gill said he wanted to offer vendors in the community market their first day free of charge, saying that he had started in a market and understood the difficulties that people starting businesses face.
And he said the new space would help his business, given that it would offer customers a bigger space to come and enjoy their sweet treats.
Another area in the building could have been used for fitness groups and other classes.
The proposed lease would have been for ten years, with a possible ten year extension down the line.
Dune Bakery had bid over the council’s asking price for a lease during a tender process for the space.
Speaking after the council backed out before signing the lease, he said: Mr Gill said: “When they called and said they had bad news, I just thought the date of entry was getting pushed a couple of days – I was not expecting them to completely pull out of it.
“I’d been putting in a lot of work and looking to hire more people and sourcing equipment, trying to plan the whole thing.
“I was disappointed, and really angry. This isn’t a private landlord, it’s the council, they should operate at a higher standard than this. It’s no wonder no one ever trusts them.”
Earlier this week, a council spokesperson said: “We’re grateful to the Dune Bakery for their interest in leasing this space and are sorry we’re not able to take this forward.
“We’ve written to the business to apologise and explain – and have offered to cover the costs they’ve incurred to date.”
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