At the Planning Committee Meeting on 26th January, the Committee formalised the reasons for the refusal of Noah’s planning application to build flats on the Bowling Club site. You can click here to view the recording of the session.
Following on from that, the official letter was published on 2nd February. You can click here to download it from the GCC Planning portal.
The pertinent section of the letter gives the reasons for the refusal:
"Reason(s) for decision
01. The proposal was not considered to be in accordance with the Development Plan and there were no material considerations which outweighed the proposal's variance with the Development Plan.
02. The bowling club contributes to the local area as a community facility and the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the existing building/club is incapable of viable repair and re-use as a community facility contrary to CDP 1 - The Placemaking Principle in that it does not conform to the Qualities of Space as outlined in that policy.
03. By nature of its design, scale, massing and materials the proposed development is considered out of character within the area in which the site is located to the detriment of the visual amenity of the local area contrary to the Placemaking aims of City Development Plan policy CDP 1 - The Placemaking Principle and supplementary guidance SG 1 - The Placemaking Principle.
04. The application site is designated as a Protected Open Space in the Glasgow City Development Plan 2017 and is considered to have open space value under the criteria set out in Supplementary Guidance SG 6 Green Space and Green Network. The proposed development is not considered to better serve the local community or enhance the value of the space and is therefore contrary to City Development Plan policy."
Although this does not guarantee the saving of the site, it demonstrates that Glasgow City Council clearly recognise the value that the Club has for the local community as a facility and an open space, and gives hope that any further applications to develop over the site will similarly be refused. We'll keep campaigning!