'Unacceptable' plans to turn Glasgow townhouses into tourist flats rejected

A bid to turn two Glasgow townhouses into short-stay and tourist flats is recommended for refusal due to concerns over the “unacceptable” loss of housing.

Glasgow City Council has received an application to convert the B-listed Berkeley Street buildings for use as a “short-term lettings business”.

But planners say Gurmit Dhaliwal’s application should be rejected tomorrow (Tuesday), as the proposal is deemed “incompatible” with the Park conservation area and residential properties would be lost.

Their recommendation comes after Anderston Community Council and a neighbour objected to the plans. A change to short-term lets could “worsen the Glasgow housing emergency”, the community council warned.

It also fears “party flats” becoming a “nuisance” to residents, particularly if all eight properties were booked by one group. The resident said short-stay accommodation would “destroy the sense of community” and put extra pressure on parking and bins.

However, there are six letters of support for the proposal, which claim self-catering accommodation would be “a good idea in a busy, visitor-focused area”.

There are eight flats across the two townhouses at 75 and 77 Berkeley Street. The applicant is seeking “formal consent to change the use of the properties to short-stay and tourist residential use, foreseeing that this may be a requirement of the short-term let licensing scheme with which they are also engaged”.

Currently, four of the eight flats are in use as residential properties. If the change of use is approved, entry to the short-term lets would be by a keypad and a four-night minimum stay requirement is expected to be imposed.

The applicant has said five parking spaces will be available, which residents will need to pre-book, and a property manager will be “onsite regularly” and available 24 hours a day.

“Clear guidelines and house rules shall be detailed, to ensure guests are further clearly instructed to keep noise to a minimum and to respect neighbouring amenities,” the application adds.

The objection from Anderston Community Council states: “We strongly believe this change of use from residential properties into a short-term let business serves no benefit to the local area.”

It adds the council “consistently hears reports of anti-social behaviour… such as excessive noise, violence, substance abuse, vandalism of public spaces and threatening behaviour by users of these properties”.

“We do not want to deter local business people from investing within our ward; however, Anderston Community Council firmly believes that this business could run as a medium to long-term letting opportunity, which would be in great demand and no doubt be a successful business venture for the applicant.”

A resident, who lives on Kent Road, added: “The council itself has broadly announced that there is a housing shortage in Glasgow. The proposed short-term let further creates issues, because the same spaces could just be rented long term, for families in severe need of a place to live.”

One of the supporting letters states: “If self-catering accommodation can be provided in buildings where no mix of long and shorter-term residents results, this can only be a good thing.”

In a report to the planning committee, council officials state: “The proposal would result in the unacceptable loss of eight residential apartments… and would introduce an intensive and incompatible commercial short-term letting accommodation into the conservation area, where such a change is strongly resisted in order to preserve residential amenity.

“The proposed use is likely to introduce issues of increased noise, disturbance and parking congestion into the area, and no justification has been provided to demonstrate significant community or economic benefits.”

It adds: “There are a number of short-term letting properties nearby, including the Clyde Hostel on this street block. The introduction of further short-term letting would harm the character of the area, resulting in further commercial use in an area where residential properties are becoming more common.

“No supporting information has been provided demonstrating that the existing residential use is no longer sustainable, nor that there is no rental interest in these properties.”

Councillors on the planning committee will consider the application tomorrow.