PLANS have been lodged for the £220million regeneration of the Sighthill area of the city.

The move comes just days after Glasgow failed in its bid to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Sighthill was to be home to the Athletes' Village for the event.

But council leader Gordon Matheson insisted work in the area would go ahead regardless of the decision of the International Olympic Committee.

It has now been revealed that plans for the massive transformation of the area have been submitted to council planners.

The work was fast-tracked as part of the Youth Olympics bid.

As a result, it is hoped the regeneration of the area will be finished by 2018, when the Youth Olympics were scheduled to start.

It will be the biggest infrastructure and remediation project of its kind in the city in recent history.

Plans include the creation 650 new homes in low-rise apartment blocks, with a mix of tenures, which will be built by a private developer on the site of the old Pinkston flats and the existing Sighthill Park.

There will also be a further new 141 homes for social rent, built by Glasgow Housing Association on the site of the already demolished Fountainwell multi-storeys.

Other work will include:

l A new school campus with community and sports facilities.

l A new bridge over the M8 at the south west of the development, providing better pedestrian links to the city centre.

l A network of green spaces to link the area to the city centre.

l Land remediation and upgrading at Sighthill Park.

l A new park and landscaping work.

l New local shops.

Student accommodation, with around 500 beds, will also be built, along with a new road bridge at the north west of the site and there will be new roads, parking, infrastructure and new public spaces.

in the hope of attracting a private developer, land will also be allocated for a new hotel.

The city council will also create a high quality park for the use of local people.

Sighthill is one of eight priority regeneration areas in the city, know as Transformation Regeneration Areas.

Until recently, it was likely Sighthill would have been the last of the eight area to be redeveloped but that changed as a result of the Youth Olympics bid.

The work will result in the local population more than doubling, from the present 1100 residents to more than 3000.

The council said the Sighthill masterplan sets out to create a vibrant, pedestrian- friendly area with a mix of accommodation and an improved network of green spaces.

Mr Matheson added: "The plans are tremendously exciting and bring forward the transformation of the area by 20 years.

"While we are disappointed by the Youth Olympic Games decision, one legacy of our fantastic bid will be the creation of a very attractive place in which to live, work and study.

"The regeneration of Sighthill will continue our work to unlock the massive potential of the north side of the city centre."

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk