Made up of one- and two-bedroom homes, the 25 new council flats were given the green light this week by the planning committee. The development will be built on an area of open space at Gibb Street in Chapelhall.

A number of objections were raised by local residents highlighting concerns around the loss of a designated green network site. However, councillors accepted the planner’s assessment unanimously which claimed “the benefits of providing new social housing” outweighed the loss and noted that there is “other open space in the vicinity”, The Daily Record reports.

A report given to councillors noted: “The development was scaled back from the original plan so that only around half of the site would be developed and the remainder would stay as open space, the quality of which would be enhanced by landscape [and] ecology improvements.”

Acknowledging and addressing concerns, the report concluded: “Most of the objections were in response to the original proposal which would have involved development of the whole site, whereas the amended proposal would now retain the eastern half as open space.

“It is acknowledged that the proposal would result in a reduction in the amount of open space and reduce its potential for some recreational uses; however, there are several nearby areas of open space in Chapelhall, including the play area and multi-use games area immediately north-west of the site, smaller grass areas at George Street and Melrose Avenue, and extensive publicly-owned woodland walking routes to the north.”