Wetherspoon signage proposed for former McCowans on Dundee Street

A prominent frontage on Dundee Street could be rebranded with illuminated Wetherspoon signs under a new advertisement application lodged with the City of Edinburgh Council.

The proposal concerns 134 Dundee Street, Edinburgh EH11 1AF, the former McCowans site on the busy route between Fountainbridge, Polwarth and Dalry. The application seeks consent for a package of external advertisements, including fascia signs, box signage, projecting signs and hoarding.

The council validated the application on 18 May 2026. It is currently listed as awaiting assessment, with no decision recorded.

What is proposed

The application is for advertisement consent rather than a full planning application for a new building. It focuses on the signs and branded elements that would be visible from Dundee Street.

The proposal covers several types of signage:

• illuminated Wetherspoon fascia signs on the frontage
• round projecting signs
• box signage
• hoarding associated with the rebrand

Together, those elements would change how the former McCowans frontage presents to the street. Advertisement applications of this kind are concerned with the display of signs, including their position, appearance and, where relevant, illumination.

The public-facing change is therefore not a new structure, but a visible commercial rebrand at a well-known site on one of the main streets serving the west side of the city centre.

The site

134 Dundee Street sits on a busy urban corridor close to Fountainbridge and within walking distance of Polwarth, Dalry and the Union Canal area. Dundee Street carries regular bus, car, cycle and pedestrian traffic, so changes to shopfronts and commercial frontages can have a wide visual impact beyond immediate neighbours.

The address is identified in the planning material as the former McCowans frontage. For many local residents and people travelling through Fountainbridge, the site is part of a familiar commercial stretch, with ground-floor uses and signage forming a large part of the street scene.

Because the proposal includes illuminated signage and projecting signs, it is likely to be most noticeable from the pavement and from passing traffic on Dundee Street. Hoarding would also make the rebrand visible while works or frontage changes are being carried out.

Why it matters

Signage applications can look minor compared with large housing or office schemes, but they often matter locally because they shape the look and feel of a street at eye level.

At 134 Dundee Street, the proposed signs would introduce Wetherspoon branding to a prominent former venue frontage. For neighbours and nearby businesses, the main points of interest are likely to be the brightness, size, positioning and number of signs, especially where illumination and projecting signs are involved.

For the wider Fountainbridge and Dundee Street area, the application is also a marker of continuing commercial change. The proposal would not by itself confirm wider operational details, but it does indicate a visible branded presence at the former McCowans site.

What the council will assess

Advertisement consent is a specific part of the planning system. The council’s assessment normally focuses on the visual effect of signs and whether they raise public safety issues, such as distraction or obstruction. In a busy street setting, the appearance of illuminated and projecting signage can be an important part of that assessment.

The application description lists the advertisement types as fascia sign, box sign, projecting sign and hoarding. The planning reference is for advertisement consent, so the live question before the council is whether those signs should be allowed in the proposed form.

Residents and businesses interested in the details should check the drawings and documents on the council planning portal, where the precise sign locations and designs can be reviewed.

What happens next

The application is awaiting assessment by the City of Edinburgh Council. A decision has not yet been recorded.

Anyone who wants to follow the case or comment should search the council planning portal using the address, 134 Dundee Street Edinburgh EH11 1AF, or the planning reference 26/02131/ADV.