Fresh bid to turn Buchanan Street upper floors into flats in Glasgow

A fresh bid has been launched to convert the empty upper floors of a B-listed building on Glasgow’s main shopping street into flats.

Buchanan Properties Ltd wants to provide homes above retail premises at the corner of Buchanan Street and Gordon Street, which it believes align with council plans to increase the number of people living in the city centre.

Six flats would be created over three floors, which are “disused and have been for some time”, above Timpson, Kiehl’s and Mountain Warehouse.

Council planners previously granted permission for six homes in 2021, but the new owners have altered the plans. The earlier proposal had been submitted by TCS Freehold Investments Ltd.

The new plans claim the 2021 application “did not satisfy the requirements for this type of conversion”, and the redesign “goes much closer to a deliverable and workable solution”.

They add: “It is felt that given Glasgow’s history of residential tenement flats accessed from a common close stairwell often with retail use at ground floor level, bringing residential flats back to Buchanan Street is the most desired option.”

If approved, the scheme would include five two-bed flats and a one-bed property, which would be accessed from the close at 107 Buchanan Street.

The council recently produced a new vision for the regeneration of the ‘Golden Z’, which includes Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street.

The developers said the vision includes a “a strong mix of use between housing and retail and leisure to reactivate the city centre”, adding “more living within the city centre was widely supported”.

The plans added: “The Golden Z’s role until now has relied predominantly on retail, which has been significantly impacted by the consequences and changes in consumer behaviour, both pre and post-Covid-19, which has resulted in a diminished retail offer.

“Our proposal promotes the ethos behind the study’s findings and offers six quality residential flats for the private sector as one of the first steps to bringing people back into the city centre.”

The council also has a strategy which aims to double the amount of people living in the city centre to 40,000 by 2035. It includes encouraging the conversion of empty properties.