Plans in for resi revival of Glasgow’s Collegelands

Glasgow Enlightenment has filed plans for a £95m multi-use residential development in Calton, Glasgow. The developer has proposed to develop two student accommodation blocks with 591 beds, as well as 147 rented apartments and an arts centre on the 2.5-acre site Collegelands Park site. The arts centre will be built by charity Dream Machine Productions. Dream Machine has for the past nine years operated a community hub with music and art studios, a café, galleries and music venues on London Road. Dream Machine is working to secure funding for the building, with a five-year strategy to have enough revenue-generating activity to be financially sustainable and no longer dependent on external funding. Paul O’Donnell, director at Glasgow Enlightenment, said: “It’s great to share the final vision for Collegelands Park and I would like to thank everyone who came along to our consultation meetings and gave us their views on how the development could best serve the local community. “We have lowered the heights of the buildings to address concerns around visual impact and have taken on board the feedback on how the park should look from local residents and community groups. “We are very excited about plans for the development, which will deliver new green space, cultural activities and rented accommodation for the local community, along with much-needed homes for students in Glasgow, which has the largest shortage of purpose-built student accommodation in the UK. “It will offer a real opportunity for students to develop lasting ties with the city and become part of the local community.” Dream Machine founder Matt Lygate said: “We have been renting our present space for a long time but it will be amazing to have our own purpose-built hub where we can host meet-up groups, provide space for community events, put on a year-round public relaxation programme and become a home for many other community projects, bringing value to us all.” Images from Glasgow Enlightenment