Glasgow architecture news 2025, Strathclyde buildings, Scottish architects offices, Property design
Glasgow Building News 2025, Strathclyde
post updated 20 January 2025
Strathclyde building design news highlights from 2024:
9 December 2024
Gold medal for Allander Leisure Centre
photo courtesy of architects office
Allander Leisure Centre Building
This Bearsden building design by local architects Holmes Miller wins a top award from the Glasgow Institute of Architects. The new facility previously made the shortlist of the AJ Architecture Awards 2024.
5 December 2024
Radical retrofit of Calton Square
Retaining 88% of the existing structural frame, the major refurbishment seeks to create a new identity for the office building through reconfiguration and enhancements that exemplify sustainable and wellness-centred design.
Calton Square Edinburgh office building renewal
29 November 2024
Student Accommodation at 292-298 St Vincent Street Construction Start
image courtesy of Artisan Real Estate / Homes for Students
Construction of high-quality student accommodation at 292-298 St Vincent Street, Glasgow is now underway, heralding a welcome investment boost for the heart of the city centre:
292-298 St Vincent Street Student Accommodation
12 November 2024
Buchanan Bus Station Masterplan
Design: AtkinsRéalis
aerial photo courtesy of architects office
Buchanan Bus Station Glasgow masterplan news: design and engineering consultant AtkinsRéalis appointed by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport to develop a master plan for Scotland’s busiest and biggest bus station to improve transport links for the city and wider region:
Buchanan Bus Station Masterplan
11 November 2024
Under-resourced and ill-equipped planning system failing to tackle Scotland’s escalating housing emergency
Average processing times increasing whilst volume of major and local applications continue to fall
New planning application statistics published today illustrate a planning service which is under-resourced and ill-equipped to deal with Scotland’s escalating housing emergency according to sector body Homes for Scotland (HFS). The figures covering the period for the financial year 2023 / 2024 show that, despite a 29% decrease in the volume of major housing applications decided, the average processing timeframe has increased from 39 to 60 weeks compared to the previous year. As a benchmark, the statutory timeframe for these decisions is 16 weeks.
The timeframes for deciding small, local housing applications follows a similar trend. With a 27% decrease in the number of applications decided in 2023 / 2024, the average processing timeframe has increased from 17 to 19 weeks against a statutory timeframe of eight weeks.
Compounding Scotland’s escalating housing emergency is the fact that none of the local authorities with declared local housing emergencies had average processing times within the statutory timeframes for either local or major housing applications.
HFS Chief Executive Jane Wood said:
“Today’s statistics are a crucial indicator of Scotland’s ability to tackle the national housing emergency across the short, medium and long term. With last month’s housing statistics highlighting consecutive declines in all-tenure starts and completions, today’s planning processing figures only confirm what the sector already knows: our planning system is poorly resourced and ill-equipped to deal with the policy implications of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) which is seeing land supply for new homes fall off a cliff.
“The Scottish Government must take urgent action to get Scotland’s planning system sorted with long-term sustainable funding and resourcing if we are to ensure that current and future generations have access to warm sustainable homes that meet their needs and that they can afford.
“With the next Scottish Budget under a month away, today’s statistics should prove a timely reminder to the Scottish Government of the consequences of cutting the Planning Budget by 43%, whilst also not ringfencing planning fees to support reinvestment into the planning service. If we are to get to grips with the housing emergency, it is essential that the Scottish Government restores funding to the planning system with a prioritisation on digitisation, and expands the capacity and focus of the much vaunted new Planning Hub at pace to include housing rather than just hydrogen development.
“It is therefore vital that the Minister for Public Finance Ivan McKee offers both clarity and certainty on how the planning system will be resourced and financed to support the delivery of new high-quality homes at pace in his statement to the Scottish Parliament on ‘Scotland’s Planning System – Supporting Investment and Economic Growth and Delivering Quality Homes’ tomorrow.”
See tables below, for average decision making timeframes for major and local housing developments in local authorities with declared housing emergencies.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS (HOUSING) – LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN HOUSING EMERGENCY 2023 / 2024
LOCAL AUTHORITY DECISIONS TIMESCALE (WEEKS)
Argyll & Bute 2 41.5
Edinburgh 1 42.9
Fife 2 57.1
Glasgow 7 64.7
Scottish Borders 1 16.6
South Lanarkshire 4 37.8
West Lothian 4 152.6
LOCAL DEVELOPMENTS (HOUSING) – LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN HOUSING EMERGENCY 2023 / 2024
LOCAL AUTHORITY DECISIONS TIMESCALE (WEEKS)
Aberdeen 34 22.7
Angus 115 9.3
Argyll & Bute 251 27.7
Dumfries & Galloway 197 31.2
Edinburgh 112 16.3
East Renfrewshire 22 23.8
Fife 153 13.9
Glasgow 143 16.5
Scottish Borders 122 14
South Lanarkshire 179 39.8
West Dunbartonshire 11 14.4
West Lothian 58 30.2
12 November 2024
Scottish Government announcement positive opportunity for planning reset on housing, say home builders
“Overdue” measures to ensure “tangible results in next 12 months”
Home building body Homes for Scotland (HFS) has welcomed this afternoon’s announcement on planning by the Minister for Public Finance Ivan McKee MSP. This follows yesterday’s statistics showing that the average processing time for major residential applications had increased to 60 weeks despite a 29 per cent fall in the volume of applications.
See more on the Edinburgh Building News 2024 page.
Allander Leisure Centre in Bearsden Award News
Allander Leisure Centre in Bearsden
More Glasgow Building News 2024 online soon
Contemporary Strathclyde Architecture by Typology – significant properties and structures:
Glasgow architecture competitions
Glasgow architecture exhibitions
Glasgow mixed-use developments
Over time we will add more granular types, for now they are combined, for example colleges are with universities.
More contemporary Glasgow Building News 2024 online soon, from Isabelle Lomholt and Adrian Welch at e-architect.
+++
Strathclyde Architectural Designs
Contemporary Strathclyde Architecture News Archive
2020
2019
2018
Glasgow Building News 2018 April – December 2018
Glasgow Architecture News 2018 up to end of April 2018
2017
Glasgow Building News from July 2017 to December 2017 – news archive
Glasgow Architecture News from end of January 2017 to July 2017 – news archive
2016
Glasgow Architecture News 2016 – end of January 2017 – news archive
2015
Glasgow Architecture News 2015 – news archive
Comments for the Glasgow Architectural News for 2024 – Scottish Architecture + construction – key West Scotland property – Strathclyde architecture & architects page welcome.