Plan to build flats and shops in Glasgow's Finnieston thrown out

Council officials had recommended HJV Consultants Ltd’s bid to build at 1017 Argyle Street could be approved despite 19 objections.

Those opposed to the plan claimed the building would be too high and the design wasn’t in keeping with neighbouring properties. Glasgow’s planning committee voted in favour of rejecting the application.

The developers wanted to build on a gap site next to the railway line on the south side of Argyle Street, opposite its junction with Kent Road. The land, next to a B-listed tenement, is within the St Vincent Crescent conservation area.

They applied to erect a six-storey building, with two ground floor shops, and planning officials ruled the “impact on the conservation area and adjacent listed buildings” was “considered to be appropriate”. The building would be a “complimentary addition”, they reported.

However, objectors, including Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Community Council and Friends of St Vincent Crescent Conservation Area, claimed the development did not respect the building line of Argyle Street.

They also said there would be a lack of privacy due to large windows and raised concerns over the lack of social housing as well as overdevelopment of the site.  It was claimed the development could jeopardise the reinstatement of Finnieston Station, but council officials said this is not planned.

At a recent planning meeting, Cllr Patricia Fergusion said: “I have a concern generally about some of the developments we see, particularly in places like Finnieston.

“Because of the random way in which developments come to planning, we are now seeing buildings of various styles and sizes being proposed to be built very close to one another.

“To me that lacks a cohesive approach. It also, this may be a personal thing, makes the area look a little bit messy.”

Cllr Eva Bolander said she had “concerns in respect of the materials and the height” and added the new building shouldn’t be “overpowering” a listed building.

While Bailie Christy Mearns said: “I can see merit within this proposal, however I cannot in all confidence support it as it currently sits. I don’t feel that it does respect the setting of the listed building, or the wider conservation area, in terms of its height and its materials particularly.”

They suggested the application should be refused as it did not respect the historic environment. A planning official said the building would be taller than its neighbours but “only by a storey” and he believed it conformed with policy.

Cllr Paul Leinster said he thought the scale of the proposal was “probably quite appropriate” as the upper level was set back, which showed “a level of thought and consideration”.

He added there was also a modern building on the other side of the railway line and the proposal would “effectively book-end the railway line in quite an effective way”.

Cllr Leinster added the plans were “arguably more sympathetic” than a recently-approved application to build over 130 flats and six shops on a Lidl car park in Finnieston. He moved an amendment to approve the application but it lost out by seven votes to four.

Councillors also asked whether a new railway station would be developed on the site. An official said there “is sufficient land, even if this application is approved, to accommodate a station”.  “I think it’s something that the local community is championing, but it’s certainly not something the council is taking forward,” he added.

Bailie Mearns said a new station could have “huge sustainable and economic benefits”. The council official said there had been “no investigations about the suitability of reopening a station here carried out by any department of the council”.

Bailie Mearns responded: “That does worry me slightly, because I feel that is a really important thing to have cognisance of, prior to any decision being made.”