Hotel chain Ruby Hotels lodges interest in opening in Glasgow city centre

An international hotel chain has a “strong interest” in opening on a Glasgow city centre site which was home to a popular pub and restaurant.

Fresh plans have been submitted to Glasgow City Council in a bid to secure a “time extension” for a project which would see the old O Sole Mio restaurant, Iron Horse pub and Blue Lagoon chippy buildings knocked down.

According to the latest application, Ruby Hotels, a firm with 21 hotels across 14 countries, is interested in leasing a hotel on the land.

George Capital secured permission for a 17-storey, 183-bed hotel on the corner of West Nile Street and Bath Street in 2020 — but it has yet to be delivered. The firm is also awaiting a decision on an application to build student accommodation on the site.

The hotel plan was met with widespread opposition at the time due to the closure of the Iron Horse, which dated from 1872, and Italian restaurant O Sole Mio, which had opened in the 1960s. O Sole Mio later relocated to new premises on Bath Street.

A hotel is proposed on the corner of West Nile Street and Bath Street. LDRS

More than 400 objections to the initial plan were lodged with the council while a petition created by the pub was signed by more than 2,000 people.

Currently, the planning permission and conservation area consent for the hotel project will lapse in September this year. The new application seeks an “effective time extension” which would “allow for delivery of a high-quality hotel in this location in due course”.

It would also “provide the certainty to advance contractual discussions” with Ruby Hotels, the application states.

The two-storey building currently on the site is empty and has “fallen into a state of disrepair”. Plans add there has been “a series of incidents of theft and vandalism leaving this prominent corner site in Glasgow city centre in poor condition”.

The application continues: “The timing of securing consent back in June 2020 and the subsequent renewal in September 2023 coincided with a flat hotel market in Glasgow.

“Market interest and development activity in the hotel sector suffered a significant dip during and post pandemic. Positively this use class has seen an uptick in enquiries across the city and the applicant believes that a high quality hotel development remains capable of being delivered within the parameters of the site.

“Renewed market interest from an experienced hotel operator, Ruby Hotels, solidifies the market confidence in the site and the scheme. Working alongside Ruby Hotels here presents an exciting opportunity to capitalise on the meaningful redevelopment in this location.”

A letter from the hotel company, which has three hotels in London and one in Dublin, states it plans to “expand our footprint in the UK and Ireland further”.

The hotel proposal includes a publicly accessible restaurant on the 15th floor as well as a lounge and residents bar and a gym. Plans state the development will “replace a redundant and vacant building with a new development which better respects the site’s historic surroundings”.

“Without the consented development, it is considered the existing buildings will remain vacant for the foreseeable future and will continue to fall into disrepair.”

The pending student accommodation application for the site would, if granted, allow a 19-storey building, with over 200 student bedrooms, to be constructed.