August 20 2025

Glasgow's planning applications committee has awarded consent to a major residential project which promises to fill a brownfield void.

College Gardens is the latest iteration of long-held plans to open up the former College Street Goods Yard through the delivery of 713 build-to-rent homes, as well as 999 student beds.

Nick Ecob, director at Stallan-Brand commented: “The project will have a transformative impact on the eastern edge of the city centre, delivering new homes, green spaces and improved connectivity whilst making a positive contribution to wider local economy."

Heralded as a major step towards repopulating the city centre, the mammoth project by Galliard Apsley Partnership will open up public access with new green spaces overseen by LDA Design. This will see new pedestrian and cycle routes threaded through the largely car-free development connecting a series of new open spaces.

Awarding consent, the committee wrote: "Whilst a small part of the site is located on the boundary of the Conservation Area, it is not considered that the proposals will impact the special character or setting of this and will provide a positive contribution to the surrounding townscape through the redevelopment of a derelict site.

"Furthermore, the proposed viewpoints demonstrate that there will be a betterment to the surrounding views from the previously approved scheme due to the re-orientation of the taller building and variations in building heights."

The largest 20-storey tower is positioned on the eastern portion of the site, incorporating ground floor resident amenity. 

9 Comments

#1 Posted by Local on 20 Aug 2025 at 10:39 AM

BRILLIANT
About time

#2 Posted by G1 on 20 Aug 2025 at 10:54 AM

Fantastic scheme which needs to start on site asap along with Collegelands Park - now consented, the scheme just in for High Street/George Street; the 206 High Street site that was submitted to planning in 2021 and only now has an application in for ground works with the scheme still not approved...and then south of the College Gardens site, the new development at Spout Mouth- on site, Turnbull Street - approved not on site and Charlotte Street - still hovering around in planning - Glasgow needs to speed up its application and approvals and keep developers committed - construction and regeneration are key to the city's economic growth and there are still numerous sites east of the High Street at London Road/Trongate ripe for redevelopment

#3 Posted by Spike on 20 Aug 2025 at 10:58 AM

Excellent news, agree very much with comments above

#4 Posted by Roddy_ on 20 Aug 2025 at 12:03 PM

What a relentlessly,dull,dreich,mute and artless scheme with scattergun landscaping. It looks like some 60's point and slab blocks have been re-clad in brick.

Easily one of the worst planning decisions I can remember.

Given the number of iterations so far and willingness of the planning dept. and planning committees to accept the various downgrades, I fear we have not yet scraped the bottom of the barrel.

#5 Posted by Ben on 20 Aug 2025 at 14:11 PM

#4 but every single planning permission awarded anywhere in a G postcode are always the worst decisions in your eyes. Funny how you never seem to comment on any other proposals anywhere else in Scotland but just slate anything and everything proposed in the Greater Glasgow area.
Please feel free to share with us some visualisations and drawings of your own proposal and superior scheme for this site.

#6 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 20 Aug 2025 at 15:41 PM

Was filler now poor quality filler.
Kellogs class stack-a-pleb design vibe.
As in Blue Peter style model made out of cereal boxes.

We should be aiming for better than this.

#7 Posted by Roddy_ on 20 Aug 2025 at 19:15 PM

@#5 The reason being that the architecture in the city has hit a real low in terms of quality. If you can't see it, then I would invite you to look harder.

What? Am I not allowed to critique the quality of a patently abysmal scheme? Is this not the place to do it? If you think it is not, then why not regale us with a rebuttal of my criticisms. If you think it is good ( and the tenor of you post tends to answer that in the affirmative), please tell us why.

PS, I have actually commented on many other schemes throughout Scotland, some of which I've thoroughly commended, though I admit they are very much in the minority. The reason why I comment on Glasgow schemes, is because I've been generally paying attention to Glasgow's architecture and planning for around 30 years. I feel reasonably secure in my opinions about what is good and what is bad, because I've seen what works and what doesn't. What is resilient and what isn't. What is artless, dreich and dismal and what isn't.

Do I feel compelled to share visualisations and drawings of this site - no. Why would I. That is a bit of a silly notion. Should anyone critiquing anything have to reproduce the thing which is being criticised? Restaurant critics would be chefs, film critics would be directors and design journalists would be architects. Silly.

#8 Posted by robert menzies on 20 Aug 2025 at 23:49 PM

Reminds me of 1960s New York housing such as the stuff Trump's father built. Doubt very much if the fire stairs work in a number of the blocks. In DE you have to go through the lobby of one stair to reach the alternative stair escape. If that lobby is smoke filled then you are trapped.

#9 Posted by robert menzies on 20 Aug 2025 at 23:55 PM

Reminds me of 1960s New York housing such as the stuff Trump's father built. Doubt very much if the fire stairs work in a number of the blocks. In DE you have to go through the lobby of one stair to reach the alternative stair escape. If that lobby is smoke filled then you are trapped.

Post your comments