Glasgow charity's bid to turn office into cafe approved by council planners

A city centre office can be turned into a cafe after the project received the green light from council planners.

An application from Wasps Studios — a charity which provides studios to artists — to convert a unit at 60 Osborne Street has now been approved.

The charity occupies the floors above the office, and has three other buildings in the city, including its headquarters at The Briggait.

Under the change of use permission, the cafe will be able to open from 8am to 6pm daily.

Planning officials ruled the plan is “considered to be acceptable as it shall contribute to the diversity of uses within this location.”

“The use is not considered to give rise to a detrimental impact upon residential amenity through the effects of increased noise, activity and cooking fumes,” they added.

“The proposal is made by Wasps Studios, who also occupy the floors above, with direct access to these spaces through the application property. The proposal is therefore unlikely to raise issues for other occupiers.”

No cooking will take place on the site, with the plans stating the proposal is for “a cafe servery only.”

It will sell “hot and cold drinks, cold sandwiches, cakes etc,” with hot snacks “limited to reheating of soups/toasties with no formal cooking required.”

Conditions attached to the planning permission ensure the only method of heating food employed in the premises shall be a microwave oven, sandwich toaster or other sealed unit.

This has been included to “protect local residents from nuisance resulting from the disposal of cooking odours.”

Earlier this year, the charity received permission to refurbish rundown parts of the A-listed Briggait Clydeside Halls, after it submitted plans for a new market and event space.

Wasps secured funding to restore sections of the building, originally the city’s fish market, and provide a “creative industries hub and market hall food and drink destination.”

The application stated the project would address “ongoing issues with the existing building fabric and give the Briggait back its iconic status as an important building for Glasgow and its people.”