Glasgow West End Apartment Project Gets Green Light on Appeal.
Queensberry Properties has successfully appealed a decision to deny its updated plans for constructing 49 apartments in Glasgow’s West End. The developer’s initial proposal for three six and seven-storey residential blocks along Otago Lane had been rejected in late 2021, prompting more than 750 objections.
The original application, approved in 2016, featured 45 flats and four townhouses. However, “buildability” concerns arose, particularly regarding two blocks positioned too close to the river’s edge, which no longer met current flood risk standards.
In response, the revised plan aimed to resolve these issues by relocating the buildings further from the riverbank and establishing a more extensive, biodiverse green corridor. Glasgow’s local review committee approved the new application with a 6:3 vote.
Officials had previously questioned whether the proposal would negatively impact the existing land and buildings’ amenity and use, which should be preserved in the public interest. Concerns about daylight, sunlight, privacy, and waste and recycling storage and collection were raised.
Despite these concerns, the updated development plan received approval, as it was considered to deliver a high-quality design that preserves and enhances the Glasgow West Conservation Area’s character.
In a statement by jmarchitects accompanying the new application, they highlighted the project’s key objectives: improving the accessible public realm, providing routes and viewpoints overlooking the River Kelvin, and enhancing the existing green corridor along the riverbank to secure its habitat, environmental, and visual benefits.
The proposed blocks’ architectural character, positioned above the floodplain and behind the riverbank’s 15-meter contour, aims to complement the existing tenement and warehouse architecture found between Gibson Street and Kelvinbridge.
