UK: Plans for the redevelopment of the former Marks & Spencer Store on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow have been brought forward for consultation.
A public consultation event is taking place this week on the proposals for student, and potentially other residential accommodation, for around 500 residents with re-instated alternative shopping facilities at ground floor level.
The development is being brought forward by residential and student housing developer and operator Fusion Students.
The in-person event is part of a 12-week consultation period on the proposals, with a Proposal of Application Notice (PoAN) having been submitted to Glasgow City Council.
Members of the public are free to attend the consultation at the city’s CitizenM Hotel on Wednesday 2 November.
The mixed-use proposals would see retail brought back at ground floor level to help improve the street-level environment in Sauchiehall Street, while the recreation of the former Wellington Arcade will provide a publicly accessible connection between Sauchiehall Street and Renfrew Street.
Ben Henry, head of acquisitions at Fusion Students, said: “There is clearly a student accommodation crisis in Glasgow at the moment with just 27 per cent of the city’s student population able to access purpose-built student accommodation and these proposals would help to address that shortfall. Our proposals would help to tackle this substantial shortfall by delivering quality accommodation for the city’s growing student population, within walking distance of Glasgow School of Art and Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian Universities.
“Sauchiehall Street is synonymous with Glasgow and these proposals have been designed to offer a range of active uses that will contribute to the long-term vibrancy of one of the city’s main thoroughfares. We are looking forward to meeting those interested in our ambitious plans for this iconic site in Glasgow at our upcoming consultation event,” he added.
“We are committed to listening and engaging with members of the public as we move towards the submission of a formal planning application. I would urge anyone with an interest in the proposals to attend our in-person event on Wednesday 2 November. Members of our project team will be on-hand to discuss the proposals with the local community and to answer any questions they may have. We look forward to continuing to engage with the public and hearing feedback about our proposals, which will help to shape our future plans,” concluded Henry.
It is anticipated that a planning application will be submitted to Glasgow City Council in early 2023.
