Plans approved to demolish former nightclub Archaos for 14-storey block of student flats

Student flats can be developed on the site of former Glasgow nightclub Archaos after plans were given the go-ahead.

The city’s planning committee approved an application to partially demolish buildings on Queen Street and build a 14-storey student accommodation block.

The site, previously home to Archaos nightclub, has been earmarked for demolition under plans submitted by Carrick Properties and CAQN Ltd.

As part of the project, which will provide 195 beds and a ground floor retail unit, the façade of the building will be retained. There will be a cinema, gym, games lounge, dining room and study area.

Student flats are planned on the former Archaos nightclub site on Queen Street, Glasgow.Carrick Properties and CA Ventures

Representatives for the developers said there have been extensive talks with the owners of Tam Shepherd’s Trick Shop — which is on the ground floor of the block — over the design of the commercial unit.

They added the shop has “first refusal” on the premises.

A representative from the architects behind the scheme, Flow Design, said it was “an opportunity to stop the rapidly increasing deterioration of a city centre asset”.

Initially, full demolition and a 17-storey building had been proposed but this was changed after talks with the council and other stakeholders.

Archaos, which opened in the mid-90s and once hosted Top of the Pops, closed in 2007. The upper floors of the Queen Street premises have been empty since 2010.

In the application, the firms behind the project, Carrick Properties Ltd and global real estate company CA Ventures, claimed they would “bring positive, high quality regeneration to a largely vacant site within the city centre”.

The accommodation is set to be managed by Novel Student, which operates CA Ventures’ student accommodation portfolio across the UK and Europe.

Cllr Eva Bolander, SNP, asked for the application to be continued due to a lack of information after she requested more detail on the amount of student accommodation and mainstream residential properties in the surrounding area.

Her request was not supported and she abstained from voting on the application, although she said it was “a good proposal when it comes to design”.

In a report, council officials acknowledged there are existing student accommodation developments within 400 metres, but added it is “not considered that the resultant number would be harmful to the maintenance of the city centre community”.

They recommended the scheme could be approved, reporting it can “deliver economic development benefits within the city centre through investment in the built fabric, increased population, and the creation of employment opportunities”.

Cllr Ken Andrew, SNP, who chaired the committee, said Tam Shepherd’s shop had “almost legendary status” in the city and asked what conversations had been held with the owners.

Representatives for the developers said Carrick Properties has “liaised extensively” with the owners and the unit has been “designed to suit Tam Shepherd’s needs”.

Cllr Paul Leinster, SNP, said: “I think this is a good proposal, obviously the facade retention is really positive. I think it’s designed in a way that is sympathetic to what is around it.”

Cllr Declan Blench, SNP, added: “The facade retention is great. The fact they have worked to reduce the height shows a receptiveness to feedback on the part of the developers, which is to be welcomed.”

The Architectural Heritage Society Scotland objected to the size of the proposed building, claiming 13 storeys is “in excess of neighbouring buildings” and would “overshadow” them.

Council planners reported analysis has “satisfactorily” demonstrated the “scale and massing of the proposal is appropriate for the site and the wider setting”.