Developers behind a controversial plan to transform the former Royal High School in Edinburgh into a £75m hotel have appealed against a council decision to throw it out.

Councillors voted against the proposals in December, following outspoken opposition from conservation bodies and residents’ groups.

The development, proposed by Duddingston House Properties (DHP) and operated by five-star chain Rosewood, would have seen the A-listed neoclassical building at the edge of Calton Hill converted into a luxury hotel.

Now DHP has lodged a formal planning permission appeal with the Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division.

Further details are yet to emerge about DHP’s grounds for the appeal, which was listed online on Thursday.

Opponents to the hotel scheme said the redevelopment would cause "irreversible damage", while supporters said it would reap "exceptional economic benefits".

A rival plan submitted the Royal High School Preservation Trust would see the building converted into a new home for the city's St Mary's Music School.

The alternative proposals, which were handed to the council in December, would feature three performances spaces and a 300-seat concert hall in the school's former debating chamber.

The team behind the music school plans say their project would return the historic Royal High building to its "rightful position at the cultural heart of Edinburgh".