Govanhill Baths Preservation Trust has obtained permission to open a “membership-led shop that provides good quality food at a subsidised rate” to fight poverty.

The current People’s Pantry, in Cathcart Road, which is operated by Govanhill Baths Community Trust, is expected to move into the converted washhouse in Calder Street once work is complete.

Revamping the steamie is the first part of phase two of the redevelopment of the B-listed baths, The Herald reports.

Plans submitted for the community shop say the hub would “provide a sustainable and longer-term option for people facing food insecurity, with the aim of reducing disadvantaged local people’s reliance on food banks”.

The plans read: “The pantry will make fresh, nutritional, good quality produce far more accessible, both in terms of location and affordability.”

Like the Cathcart Road pantry, the new shop will operate under a membership model. Members are set to pay a weekly subscription of £2.75 and will be able to access about £15 worth of food and other essentials.

The plans submitted to the council say that products will be supplied by a number of sources, the majority coming via Fareshare, a food redistribution charity.

The 68-stall washhouse, or steamie, was converted into a launderette in 1971 and later a gym. Govanhill Baths were closed in 2001, but the community campaigned for the building to be reopened.