Divisive plans to build flats at former Mount Florida bowling club recommended for approval

A long-running planning battle which sparked a protest at Mount Florida Bowling Club is set to come to a head next week – with 32 homes recommended for approval.

Glasgow’s planning committee delayed making a decision on divisive plans to build flats on the former Southside bowling club site in May to allow a hearing to be held.

Noah Developments wants to redevelop the land but its proposal has sparked opposition in the community, with campaigners gathering to give the club a ‘hug’ ahead of May’s meeting.

The hearing has now been scheduled for Tuesday. It will allow those both for and against the project to make their case.

Over 280 people objected to the application when plans were submitted in 2022. At the May protest, more than 120 residents surrounded the bowling club to demonstrate how much the community values the “irreplaceable” green space.

However, 130 letters of support for the project – which would see part of the site opened to the public – were also sent to Glasgow City Council.

Council planners have recommended the scheme can go ahead, reporting it would bring a “derelict brownfield site back into active use” and would include “open space suitable for a variety of recreational uses”.

Flats are planned on the former Mount Florida bowling club site. The old clubhouse would also be refurbished and used as a community space. Image by JM Architects. LDRS

After the protest, the trust’s chair, Nicola Smith, said: “The site has been locked up for too long, but we haven’t forgotten its potential. We want to see it brought into full community use, not cut in half.

“We recognise the need for more housing, but there are plenty of more suitable sites for development which would not result in the destruction of green space and a community amenity.”

Under Noah’s proposal, the eastern half of the site would become publicly accessible open space including a “retained and refurbished” clubhouse. A legal agreement is planned to ensure public access is maintained.

The developers have said it intends to hand the open space and clubhouse to a community organisation to run but will maintain it itself if no group comes forward.

But Mount Florida Community Trust, which was formed by residents in 2019 with the aim of purchasing the site, wants to retain all of the “irreplaceable” green space.

Campaigners fighting to save green space in Mount Florida surrounded the former bowling club. Image by Nicola Smith/Mount Florida Community Trust. LDRS

It is Noah’s second attempt to secure planning permission after an original proposal for 40 homes was rejected in 2020. An appeal to the Scottish Government failed too.

Council planners had also said the initial application, which received over 600 objections, could be approved, but it was turned down by councillors.

The trust had plans, which included a tennis court and fitness area, approved by the council. However, Noah owns the site after purchasing it from the bowling club and the trust’s planning permission has now expired.

Trust members have been consulting with the local community over what its current preferences for the land are. Noah has said it took on board feedback from its failed appeal, resulting in a scaled back development and retention of the clubhouse.

It believes the redevelopment would provide “much needed housing”, which will “enable the funding and the creation of a significant community open space”.

Members voted to close the bowling club, founded in 1909, at the end of the 2019 season due to “falling membership numbers”.