New bid to knock down Corunna Bowling Club and build flats with public gardens

Plans to develop the site of the Corunna Bowling Club at St Vincent Crescent were rejected last year.

But applicant Nixon Blue has submitted new proposals to Glasgow City Council, which include public gardens.

The developer has also reduced the number of flats by three, from 39 to 36, and wants to build a seven-storey block instead of nine.

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There were almost 400 objections to the initial application and the council's local review committee turned down the application in March last year, highlighting three issues.

Theses were the need for a bowling club, the loss of urban space and the height, scale and massing of the proposed development.

The new application states sportscotland has advised there is no need for a bowling club.

A planning report states: "The new public gardens, open to all, are intended to be a focal point to the new development and surrounding housing."

Corunna Bowling club was established around 1860 but was forced to close in 2017 due to "dwindling membership".

The application describes the remaining bowling club, built around 2000, as "architecturally insignificant".

It adds: "Today St Vincent Crescent sits at the heart of a revitalised Finnieston, which boasts fashionable restaurants and an influx of new residential development."

Nixon Blue wants to provide a mix of two bed, three bed and duplex flats as well as 23 parking spaces and secure sheltered cycle parking.

"To minimise the height we have reduced the block to seven storeys by removing undercroft parking, reducing overall numbers from 39 to 36 flats and reducing the number of duplex units by providing larger three bedroom flats at the west end," the report adds.

It states the "new pleasure garden" would act as a "green buffer" and a "public amenity space".

When the original plans were rejected last year, Councillor Michael Cullen said: "There would be considerable difference in height between the new building and the surrounding ones which are only three storeys high."

And Councillor Malcolm Cunning added: "The applicant appears to be trying to get around the loss of open space by creating a public area at the front and a play area but that is not enough."

A planning statement with the new plans claims: "This is not a case where high-density housing is being proposed at the expense of high quality public open space; in effect it is the opposite.

"This new garden is well designed, will be well-managed and without question will benefit the quality of life for all local residents.

"It also makes economic sense as the housing market highlights the increase in property and land values surrounding good quality open space."