Hundreds of student flats are to be built on Bath Street with developers claiming it could help regenerate Sauchiehall Street.
The city’s planning committee backed developer iQ’s bid to demolish offices and put up 527 student homes at a hearing today (Tuesday) despite concerns there are too many in the area.
Voting against the bid, Councillor Eva Bolander, SNP, said when there is a high number of transient people, they “don’t care about the local area in the same way.”
And a community council believes it is a missed opportunity to provide affordable homes.
Local councillors said there is an overconcentration of purpose-built student accommodation in the area, but iQ representatives claim the city centre is “large enough to accommodate” the development.
They argued the development could help to “regenerate” the surrounding area, including Sauchiehall Street.
Councillor Angus Millar, SNP, whose ward includes the city centre, said it was “deeply frustrating” that many planning committee members who had voted in a “largely partisan split" did not engage with planning guidance in a "meaningful way".
The decision was made by nine votes to six, with Labour and Conservative councillors in favour of the development and SNP and Greens mostly against.
Bailie Anne McTaggart, SNP, did vote to approve the plans.
Councillor Millar told the planning committee: “Permitting yet more student accommodation in this location would exacerbate an existing overconcentration and detract from the city’s efforts to promote a mixed and balanced residential community in the city centre.”
After the meeting, he added: “Students are an important part of the mix in building our city centre population, but what was in question here was whether the Blythswood area was an appropriate locality for a considerable increase in student housing.
“Building this development right opposite another massive block will tilt the balance towards transient student accommodation and away from the mixed, balanced communities of people and tenures that we want to see.”
He said planning guidance contains a number of requirements for student accommodation developers, including a detailed statement of need and wider uses, which the community can benefit from, but iQ’s proposal “did not fulfil these requirements”.
“It is deeply frustrating that many of these councillors voting to approve this proposal in a largely partisan split simply did not engage with the requirements of the planning guidance in any meaningful way.”
Bailie Christy Mearns, the local Greens councillor, said: “A monopoly of student housing on this small stretch of Bath Street in this small, inner city locale of Blysthwod will have a detrimental impact on meeting the aims we have set as a city.”
And Alex Cheung, chairman of Blythswood and Broomielaw Community Council, described the plans as a “missed opportunity” to provide homes that would better serve the community, including affordable housing.
Council planners had recommended iQ, which also runs the 324-bed Elgin Place student development nearby, should be allowed to demolish the office block at 225 Bath Street to build the planned accommodation.
They said the project would be a “positive contribution” to the area.
Robert Evans, from Ryden, iQ’s agent, said there is “no moratorium against student housing in this part of the city centre”.
“One of the council’s core strategies is to repopulate the city centre and that specifically includes housing for students. This development shows confidence in a city centre that is delivering that regeneration agenda.
“Students are not bad neighbours and they are not always a transient population. Many study for five, six or seven years and Glasgow has a very high retention rate. The economic benefits of that are huge.”
The developers claimed purpose-built student accommodation “relieves pressure on HMOs (houses in multiple occupation)”, which are often used by students.
Mr Evans said: “HMOs currently house 35 per cent of all students so this provides an opportunity for reconversion and renewal of that stock elsewhere.”
Rob Roger, iQ chairman, added future student spend would “help to significantly regenerate the fortunes of the surrounding Charing Cross and Sauchiehall Street areas.”
There was a disagreement between Councillor Eva Bolander, SNP, and Councillor Elaine McDougall, Labour, after the SNP member said when there is a high number of transient people, they “don’t care about the local area in the same way.”
Councillor McDougall said she welcomed “decent student accommodation” and “saying that people don’t care about the area, and they are not part of the community" is a "disgraceful comment to make.”
Councillor Bolander said the Labour councillor was “putting words into my mouth which I did not utter.”
Labour’s Councillor Cecilia O’Lone said: “Students make up a very important part of our city. If you're coming to our city for your education purposes and paying a lot to do so then you should be entitled to good quality living accommodation.
“I think we have to be careful we don’t use negative assumptions about students’ behaviour and that it is all party, party, party.”
And Councillor Hanzala Malik, Labour, added student accommodation is a “god send to the city”. He said he has had “huge issues” with HMO safety, including two deaths.
