Developer appeals rejection for bid to build East End flats

Adam Bruce, of New West Properties, wants to erect six flats on empty land at Causewayside Street in Tollcross but the proposal was rejected by council planners last month.

The applicant’s appeal claims the site, near Vale of Clyde FC’s Fullarton Park, is an “eyesore” which would be used as a “scrapyard/container storage yard” if flats aren’t constructed.

Planners said the development would result in the “unjustified” loss of ‘amenity green space’, causing an “unacceptable impact on the natural environment”.

They also said the scheme lacked an “appropriate level of parking” and rooms and communal areas would “experience poor daylight, sunlight, outlook and overshadowing”. A flood risk assessment was also needed, they added.

Now, the applicant has launched an appeal to the Scottish Government, with a reporter expected to be appointed to assess the case.

The original plans had stated the project seeks to “deliver a small-scale residential infill development” on a “narrow, vacant urban plot within an established residential and mixed-use area”.

The appeal reiterates it is a “private derelict industrial site”, adding it is “fanciful to describe the site as ‘amenity green space’”. “It’s a tree-less, derelict industrial site overgrown with weeds,” it states.

On-site parking is proposed and on-street parking is available nearby, the appeal adds. The applicant has offered to reduce the scheme to four flats if “the number of spaces is a dealbreaker”.

“There are no overshadowing, overlooking or privacy issues whatsoever. Neighbouring properties are the same height or lower,” the appeal continues.

“This empty derelict site is an eyesore, not a ‘haven for wildlife’. It either becomes residential flats or gets used as industrial/commercial as a scrapyard/container storage yard.”

It adds a flood risk assessment would be an “expensive, unnecessary report” and the site is “higher than the adjacent public road”.