Holmes Miller lodged an application on behalf of KR Developments in 2020 seeking permission for the mix of studio, 1, 2 and 3-bed apartments on Beith Street, Partick.

Located on the vacant land to the south of Beith Street/ Castlebank Street on what is the remainder of the former Partick Central Station site - between the West View and West Village student residences and to the south of the Lidl car park, the ‘Kelvin Living’ project will provide 424 new apartments - 34 studios, 213 one-bed apartments, 142 two-bed apartments, 36 three-bed apartments. It will be based on a Build-to-Rent model operated by a management company with 24-hour on-site presence. 

The development would represent a significant capital investment of more than £90 million. 

Glasgow City Council went against the recommendation of planners and rejected the application back in November last year.

The report by council planners stated: “The proposed development is considered to be appropriate in scale, design and use of high quality materials and will make a successful contribution to its setting and the council’s placemaking objectives.”

It added: “The proposed residential use is wholly compatible with location of the site and its management can be safeguarded though a suitably worded management plan.

“The delivery of a key section of the Kelvin Walkway will help deliver the enhanced linkages required by the City Development Plan.”

But councillors on the planning applications committee voted 11-4 to reject the proposal, raising concerns about massing and overshadowing.

Among the objectors was a submission from Glasgow MSP Patrick Harvie, who said: “Given the demand for social housing in the city, and the over concentration of student accommodation in this area, the brownfield site in question holds greater potential to be repurposed to address the lack of social housing stock in Glasgow.”

KR Developments took the application to the Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division in a bid to overturn the council’s decision.

The appointed reporter, Rosie Leven, found that the proposals as a whole are in line with the city’s development plan and that “a high quality design with a satisfactory level of amenity would be achieved”.

Permission will officially be granted if a legal agreement is reached between the council and the developer over several matters including financial contribution towards off-site open space provision.