Friday November 14th 2025
Gigi's restaurant, in Bonnyrigg
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
The loss of a town’s restaurant would be ‘severely detrimental’ to Midlothian it has been claimed in a row over turning public space into a car park.
Gigi’s in Bonnyrigg faced opposition from local residents when it applied to expand the parking spaces across the road from an approved nine spaces to 12.
Planners rejected the proposal saying it was an ‘unacceptable loss’ of public land despite warning from the restaurant’s representatives that they might have to relocate with the extra customer spots.
Now the restaurant has lodged a fresh application and warned planners it already has the support of local councillors who, they say, will overturn any refusal at appeal.
In a statement to the council’s planning officers, the representative says: “Informal consultation has taken place with local councillors who have stated that the loss of such an important business to the locale would be severely detrimental to Midlothian.
“Councillors are of the view that this application should be approved in light of the aforementioned conditions being met and should not be refused, as it will only be over -turned at Local Review Body, which would be a waste of public funds that can be far better spent on the areas that need them in these times of financial difficulty such as the current housing crises.”
They go on to claim councillors had said the review body, which deals with appeals was experiencing a ‘large quantity of over turned decisions” which they said “begs the question if the department is utilising the ‘pro – development’ mandate it was given by its Government and serving its locale.”
Local residents signed a petition objecting to the proposal from Gigi’s in Bonnyrigg, when it was last put before planers.
The applicants told planners that the introduction of additional parking restrictions on the street outside the restaurant meant more spaces were needed for customers.
Objectors however said it was taking away a stretch of land used as a walkway by local residents and providing a safe passage in the town.
They said: “This is very much a community space, where neighbours convalesce, elderly people take their daily walk, school children meet up, small children learn to ride their bikes, and people walk their dogs. It is a safe space for people, which is why it is such a shame that it will soon be turned into a car park.
“We fail to see how the removal of a walkway on which children, the elderly, and the disabled use for safe passage, is compatible to the local street scene, and not detrimental to the amenity of the local area.”
The new application is available on the planning portal here.
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