Ministers may call in Edinburgh housing plan amid panda health fears

Developers Sundial Dundas Corstorphine have applied for permission for the 78-home redevelopment of the nearby Corstorphine Hospital.

However the Scottish Government has notified the City of Edinburgh Council that ministers may call in the application amid fears work on the site could affect the pandas’ health.

A letter from the government states this is due to issues of “national importance” which include “possible negative health impacts for giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo during construction”.

It continues: “This direction does not commit ministers to calling in any such application but it does reserve their right to intervene.”

Giant pandas like Tian Tian and Yang Guang, on loan from China since 2011, have ultrasonic hearing and can pick up noises at very high frequencies, sparking concerns about prolonged construction work just yards from their enclosure. According to The Scotsman, male panda Yang Guang had a bout of colic in November, shortly after initial works had been carried out on the hospital site. Zoo bosses cannot prove noise from the site was linked to the illness, but they are said to believe it may have been the cause.

The planning proposal is to create 76 apartments at the old hospital, including 44 new build homes, along with car parking and landscaping.

A spokesman for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said: “We would be concerned by any development which may disturb animals in our care, particularly sensitive species such as our giant pandas.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Ministers have issued the direction in view of concerns relating to the potential impact of the proposed development including possible negative health impacts for giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo during construction, as raised in representations by Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

“As the applications for both planning consent and listed building consent remain live, the Scottish Government is unable to comment further at this time.”