Plan to build flats is not successful

PLANS to build 14 flats and two shops in Finnieston have been thrown out due to concerns over their impact o n t h e “h i s t o r i c environment”.

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, councillor Patricia Ferguson 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.”

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.