Plans approved for demolition of Glasgow's St Enoch Centre
- Published
An artist's impression of the new-look St Enoch Centre which will reinstate the city's grid street system
A major Glasgow shopping centre will be demolished and redeveloped, under plans approved by the city council.
It will see the St Enoch Centre knocked down and replaced with a development including shops, offices, restaurants and homes.
Property developer Sovereign Centros has secured approval for its plans which will include new streets and see the city's grid system reinstated.
Demolition will take place in phases over the next 15 to 20 years.
The St Enoch Centre was opened in 1989 and earned the nickname "Glasgow's greenhouse" due to its glass roof.
At the time it was the largest glass-covered enclosed area in Europe.
It has seen many refurbishments over the years but this will be the most significant change.
The replacement development will be made up of shops, offices, restaurants, more than 900 homes, a pub and a four-star hotel, among other proposals.
Serviced apartments, a hostel, apart-hotel, car parking and public space are also part of the plans.
The plan was described as "amazing" and "exciting" by councillors who granted planning permission in principle on Tuesday.
The St Enoch Centre is a large mall in the centre of Glasgow
The development will lead to the "creation of new streets and reintroduction of the Glasgow grid", according to a report presented to the council meeting.
The report said the proposal would see "a significant improvement in the townscape and open up a large city block previously enclosed".
"This will see the reinstatement of the Glasgow grid and through the creation of nine development plots provide an opportunity for high quality design," it added.
There is to be a newly formed "St Enoch Street" to the south and an extended Maxwell Street to the east, the paper presented to the planning applications committee said.
SNP councillor Eva Bolander said: "It is really exciting to see this coming forward as it is such a transformative project."
Labour councillor Imran Alam added: "It looks like an amazing mixed development for the city centre - good for regeneration of that part of the city centre."
The proposals were created to show how the St Enoch Centre could be sustainably developed over a number of phases. This would allow retailers, restaurants and leisure operators to stay open throughout.
How the new-look development will look on the St Enoch Square side
Guy Beaumont, director at Sovereign Centros, said: "This marks a milestone moment for St Enoch Centre and underlines the council's commitment to meeting the needs and demands of people who live and work in the city centre.
"It's an exciting time for Glasgow city centre and with a clear strategy and appetite for improvement, there is an enormous opportunity to create something truly special. We will now begin to refine the proposals, in line with our consents."
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick welcomed the move.
He said: "The implementation of these plans will be one of the key building blocks to future proof the city and increase our prospects of attracting local and international investment."
Meanwhile, developer Landsec continues to press ahead with plans to turn Glasgow's Buchanan Galleries - at the top end of Buchanan Street - into an £850m mixed-use destination.
Landsec has been consulting over a masterplan that would see the shopping centre demolished in order to create a "vibrant district in the heart of the city", with more green and public spaces, street level shops and restaurants and improved connectivity.