- Glasgow councillors approved 16 flats on a former convent site in Langside
- The existing villa at 32 Mansionhouse Road will be demolished
- A 2020 plan for 20 flats was refused on appeal
- Planners said restoring the building was not financially viable
A former convent in Langside, Glasgow, is to be replaced by flats after a long planning process, Scottish Housing News reported in April 2024. Glasgow City Council’s planning applications committee approved plans for a five-storey building with 16 apartments at 32 Mansionhouse Road.
The application, lodged in 2022 by Surplus Property Solutions with designs by HAUS Collective, will see the former convent villa demolished. The new building will have dual and triple aspect flats, private balconies or terraces and a communal roof terrace. The design statement said it had been “deemed unviable to retain and develop the existing building” after a technical review.
Planners had recommended approval, noting that the building “isn’t listed, doesn’t lie within a conservation area and restoration isn’t ‘financially viable.'” Councillors asked for a site visit first. A 2023 draft report found that 18 windows in nearby homes “would fall below the recommended criteria” for daylight, including four with substantial loss. The committee still approved the plan.
An earlier 2020 application by Iain Wilson Properties for 20 flats was refused on appeal, with the loss of the sandstone villa cited as a deciding factor.
Former religious buildings often face a choice between costly restoration and demolition for new homes. In Jamaica, old convents, manses and church houses in town centres face the same pressures. Before selling, churches and religious orders should consider whether the building can be reused, what neighbours will accept and what the land could provide for the community. Diaspora Jamaicans with planning or architecture experience can help assess these options.
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