McDonald’s gets green light in ASDA car park
Toryglen redevelopment approved by councillors
Plans to open a McDonald’s restaurant and six retail units in the car park of Asda Toryglen have been given the go-ahead.
The supermarket giant was given permission to overhaul the parking area of its store on Prospecthill Road to build a row of shops, a drive-thru restaurant, and shop at the existing petrol station.
Plans to create a new click and collect building, a relocated recycling centre and car parking alterations were also approved at a meeting of Glasgow City Council’s planning committee last Tuesday.
The developments were submitted to the council in two separate planning applications in a move which angered local residents, who say a single planning application would have resulted in a 12-week community consultation.
Chris Carus, chairman of Mount Florida Community Council, said: “Our focus was on the effects the new shops would have on shops in Mount Florida.
“We raised the issue with the committee and council officers that if the two applications had been presented as one - which would have been, in our opinion, in the spirit of the legislation - it would have been necessary for the committee to consider the impact on town centres such as Mount Florida and Govanhill.
“We regret that the current planning regulations allows them to get around that by splitting the application into two parts.
“Going forward we wi l l approach Asda as the developer to see if they would be willing to support projects that we have ongoing in Mount Florida.”
Glasgow councillor Anna Richardson also expressed her concern at the planning meeting on February 21.
She said: “I raised my concerns, shared by Mount Florida Community Council, that by splitting this proposal across two separate applications it removed the requirement for community consultation. As a result we do not know whether or not this proposal is supported by the majority of the community.
“I voted for the application, after being advised by officers that everything was within the regulations.
“Nonetheless I expressed unease that this may be seen to set a precedent and would discourage future developers from choosing this option.”
A spokesman for Asda said: “The approach taken at Toryglen was agreed with Glasgow City Council officers at the preapplication stage.
“We were happy to meet with the community council in January where clarity and reassurance on a number of matters were given and we now look forward to bringing this significant investment forward.”