Thursday January 29th 2026
Public toilets in Cathedral Square could be turned into a holiday let (image from plans by Linearchitecture).
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Drew Sandelands
Visitors to Glasgow could stay the night in old public toilets following a fresh bid to offer unusual accommodation in Cathedral Square.
Glasgow City Council, which owns the former toilets, approved a plan to stop the block going to waste by converting it into a holiday let in 2020.
That permission has now lapsed — but the idea hasn’t been flushed away. A new proposal, with some “design refinements”, has been launched.
Applicant Iain Williamson wants to revamp the Victorian toilets, near the city’s Necropolis, to offer “short-term self-catering tourist accommodation”.
Plans state the toilet block is “an unusual and distinctive historic structure” and its reuse will “bring a vacant building back into productive use, enhance its setting and contribute positively to Glasgow’s tourism offer”.
The applicant has a 25-year commercial lease for the building, with options to extend. Guests would access the short-term let via a keycode system. They would be provided with “clear house rules covering noise, waste, smoking, behaviour and respect for the surrounding area”.
Occupancy would be restricted to a maximum stay of no more than 14 consecutive nights per booking, and no more than 90 days in total by any individual or group in any calendar year.
The building will remain a “windowless structure”, but the roof has been designed to accommodate “daylight, ventilation and life-safety requirements”.
Plans add this method will avoid “new wall openings that would erode the building’s historic form”. They state: “A key design challenge has been the provision of adequate daylight, ventilation and means of escape while preserving the integrity of the original envelope.
“This has been achieved through a carefully remodelled roofscape, incorporating a discreet full-width pitched and hipped roof element set behind the parapet.”
A two-bedroom unit is proposed as well as a new pedestrian entrance door. There would be a small external amenity space, bin storage and sheltered bike storage.
Planning permission was granted in 2018 for a café on the site.
The application states: “Due to changes in the applicant’s business model and market conditions, the building is once again proposed for a tourism-specific short-term letting use.
“The use is expressly commercial in nature, will operate under strict occupancy and management controls, does not involve the loss of any residential housing stock nor is it in close enough proximity to affect the residential amenity of any existing residential units.”
It adds the applicant is “ fully aware of, and will comply with, the Scottish Government short-term lets Licensing Scheme and all associated local authority requirements”.
Generated plans of the accomodation (image from plans by Linearchitecture).
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