Land owner Nixon Blue had hoped its bid to develop 20 apartments at the St Vincent Crescent site would have a positive and transformational effect.

A previous application for 39 flats in a nine-storey block at the site was refused in March 2019 and an application for 36 apartments was withdrawn in November last year after planning officers recommended that councillors reject the proposal.

The latest application, which attracted 366 objections, was for a mix of two, three and four-bedroom units, plus duplexes, in a five-storey building, with underground parking and larger open garden and amenity space proposed to the front of the development for use by residents and the local community.

However, council planners refused the application in July, ruling the site is protected open space and contributes to the “character and appearance” of the St Vincent Crescent conservation area. They also decided the applicant had failed to show the existing club was “incapable of viable repair and re-use” and that the proposal didn’t reach privacy standards.

Nixon Blue has now submitted an appeal to Glasgow City Council’s planning local review committee.

Documents submitted on behalf of the developer state: “The development would deliver something that is not currently available which is local, accessible, high-quality public open space. The post-development position would be that significant progress would have been made to delivering council policy on open space for the local area.

“The removal of the former clubhouse building would not adversely affect the environment of the conservation area. Conversely, the creation of the open, well-landscaped, public open space area (as proposed within this application) would significantly enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area at the western end of St Vincent Crescent.”