Planning submitted for supermarket @ Larkfield Bus Depot

The planning application has been submitted for the (previously discussed) superstore, on the site of the Larkfield Bus Depot in Govanhill. Its an unfortunate coincidence that this application was submitted on the the eve of the Glasgow Fair holiday, meaning the window for people to officially comment on the proposals falls over the two weeks of the year when a large proportion of Glasgow is not here. Its also an interesting bit of serenpidity that the day it was submitted was also the deadline for responding to the Glasgow City Plan questionaire,which in theory is a document allowing us the citizens to shape the way the City develops and which this Supermarket proposal is currently contrary to (the site is designated for housing not retail).

When the Larkfield Supermarket scheme was first raised there was a lot of debate from people both for and against, with I'd say a majority raising more concerns about the negetive impacts that the scheme could bring about. As such we thought we should provide a link to information on how to comment on the application. Its very important that the Govanhill community have a strong say in what happens in their area and this is their oppertunity to impact on a very major site right in the heart of the community. We'd urge everyone with an opinion on the matter to take a read of the below and send in their views. We also thought it worth pointing out what is and isn't grounds for representation. For example one of the things which a lot of people have raised as a concern, "the impact on local shops" is not considered suitable grounds for a representation. The list of things which you can make representations on are only-

• Contrary to the Development Plan
• Appearance (design, materials, scale, massing etc)
• Traffic, parking and access problems
• Residential amenity (noise, overlooking, overshawdowing)
• Effect on listed buildings and Convervation Areas.

Other Council's have moved to an electronic system, but unfortunetly Glasgow doesn't yet upload applications for ease of review. Therefore anyone that wants to find out more regarding the scheme will have to make time during their working week to travel to the Planning Office at 229 George Street and ask to see a copy of the drawings. planning.representations@drs.glasgow.gov.uk 0141 287 8555.

As part of the application the developers have submitted an overview report, a copy of which you can read here. Its worth a read, to get a feel for the idea the developers are trying to sell. Having read through and re-read the comments on our previous post, it would appear most of the previously raised concerns from readers have not been addressed and I can imagine quite a few people still very worried about how the site may be developed.

As mentioned in an earlier post the quality of architecture and construction which has been foiseted upon this area of the city has been dreadful, with the M74 cutting through it, cheap buildings like the plaza thrown up to make a quick buck or the baths closed down to save a quick buck. It would be a tradegy if the Govanhill area was still not allowed to have a stronger say in what gets built or were not able to expect and to demand more thought, care and quality in how their area is developed. Therefore we urge everyone to take some time to read through the application, visit the planning offices if you can and make you opinions either way known.

When confronted by the huge number of complaints about the quality of the finished Plaza building the project developers said "Residents had their opportunity to object to the design during the planning process." Lets not let that happen again. If something is going to get built, lets make sure its something that we all feel deserves to get built.

EDIT: Funny but quite true image sent in by a reader below.