Remaking Glasgow: Plans approved to build almost 1,000 flats on Glasgow's riverside

The city’s planning committee has approved Dandara Living’s bid to create 491 student flats and 505 build-to-rent homes at Anderston Quay, near to the Kingston Bridge.

The site was the scene of a major disaster in March 1960, when 14 firefighters and five members of the Glasgow Salvage Corps died in the Cheapside Street whisky bond fire.

A previous scheme had included a proposal to include a memorial to those who lost their lives, and Cllr Ken Andrew, SNP, the committee chairman, asked for this to be a condition of the planning permission.

Cllr Martha Wardrop, Greens, opposed the development due to concerns over flood risk, as part of the site is on a floodplain.

She said: “It just doesn’t make sense to me at all, you’re putting additional risk on the floodplain by building a 28-storey building.

“I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable living in that size of building on a floodplain. I think you’re underestimating the risk.”

A council official said the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) had been consulted on the plan and there are “no residential properties within the functional floodplain”.

She added: “There’s no issue with escape from a building during a flooding event, if there was we would not be approving a residential development on this site.”

Council planners recommended the project for approval as they believe it will help “re-populate the area through the creation of an attractive waterfront neighbourhood”.

Dandara Living, the build-to-rent division of the Dandara Group, will manage the flats after construction is completed. The scheme includes two ground floor commercial units, a “linear” park alongside the river and a public square.

Flats will be provided across three blocks, with eight-storey Block A made up of purpose-built student accommodation. There would be 104 studios with en-suite and a small kitchen, and 387 flats with communal living, kitchen and dining rooms.

Ten-storey Block B will have 169 build-to-rent flats, with a mix of studios, one-bed and two-beds. Block C will be built over nine, 14 and 28 storeys and include 336 flats, ranging from studios to three-beds.

Cllr Wardrop said she was “concerned to read that Block C is a flood risk and by building it, we are building on the floodplain for the River Clyde”.

She added: “Why would you build it to that height on a floodplain next to the River Clyde? It’s quite a worry. I have serious questions and doubts about it.”

The councillor suggested the application was refused, but did not receive support for her proposal.

The council official said there is “minimal flood risk at one part of the site”, adding: “You can approve less sensitive uses — commercial spaces, entrance areas or civic squares — they can fall within the functional floodplain.”

Cllr Andrew said the residential properties are “above the level of the flood risk”. “I think that’s what they have designed.”

He asked officials about the “terrible” Cheapside Street fire. 

An official said: “There is a condition regarding public art, in one of the earlier schemes there was reference to the Cheapside Street fire. There is scope for capturing that in the landscaping, public realm and public art condition that we have attached.”

Cllr Declan Blench, SNP, described the plan as “quite a good use of what is an eyesore of a space”. “I slightly understand people’s concerns about the height and the noise, but ultimately if someone doesn’t want to live next to a motorway bridge, they are not going to view a house or a flat in that building.”

Cllr Thomas Kerr, Conservative, said: “I think this will bring a good benefit to an area that is pretty derelict at the moment.”

He shared some concerns over flooding but said “the reality is if you are going to build next to the Clyde… there could be a flood risk at some point.”

Glasgow is “one of the only cities, I suspect, in the whole of Europe that doesn’t utilise our river as much as other places do”, he added.

Cllr Elaine Gallagher, Greens, said “such a big building on a floodplain is risky” but added: “If this is a risk that SEPA are happy to permit and aren’t objecting to, then I think this is a construction and design issue and an insurance matter for the owners and the renters.”

She added: “I think the proposal as it stands is alarmingly high and stands out, I suspect that other buildings will be built around it so it won’t stand out so much.

There will be no car parking for the student accommodation development, with 40 spaces available for the other two blocks. Almost 900 cycle spaces will be provided across the three buildings.

An agreement that the developer will provide almost £440,000 to cover for “deficiencies in on-site open space provision” is expected.