Wednesday May 6th 2026
An appeal has been launched after plans to turn two Berkeley Street townhouses into short-stay flats were rejected
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Drew Sandelands
The developer behind a rejected plan to turn two Glasgow townhouses into holiday lets has urged the Scottish Government to overturn the ruling.
Gurmit Dhaliwal’s appeal claims the proposal for the B-listed Berkeley Street properties would be “unobtrusive” and would benefit the local economy.
Glasgow City Council’s planning committee turned down his application in January, partly due to the city’s housing emergency.
Planners at the council had said the proposal was “incompatible” with the Park conservation area and warned about the loss of residential properties.
But the applicant, who wants to use eight flats across the two townhouses at 75 and 77 Berkeley Street as short-stay and tourist accommodation, believes they made the wrong call. A reporter will be appointed by the Scottish Government to assess the case.
The appeal, submitted by STL Solutions Services Ltd, claims the use would be “unobtrusive, given the character of the appeal property, its neighbours and the vicinity”.
“The premises are situated on a busy thoroughfare subject to heightened levels of pedestrian activity and traffic noise,” it adds, with offices nearby which “already engender a degree of comings and goings by a non-resident population”.
The appeal also states there is “already an established element of short-stay and other non-mainstream residential use along Berkeley Street”, including hostels.
It continues: “It is recognised that there is a balance between accepting the economic benefits a short-term let use in this location may bring over the loss of a permanent residential dwelling.
“However, it is contended by the appellant that, given the location of the site, there is a high probability of considerable visitor spend in the local economy flowing from the appeal use as well as a benefit to local employers.”
The council rejected the scheme as the applicant had “not demonstrated that the loss of mainstream residential accommodation has been outweighed by significant local economic benefit”.
It also ruled they had not shown “that any risk of harm to residential amenity through issues of noise, anti-social behaviour, or traffic and parking congestion can be addressed”.
At the planning committee meeting earlier this year, Cllr Paul Leinster, SNP, said: “I see no reason why we should take eight homes out of use and turn them into tourist accommodation.
“There’s nothing I’ve heard and no reason I can think of why we should grant this, particularly as we’ve discussed the housing emergency we’ve declared and we are going through.”
He added it is “quite a desirable area”. “Once they’re marketed, they’ll be snapped up.”
Anderston Community Council and a neighbour had objected to the plans while six letters of support for the proposal were submitted.
The community council claimed the change of use could “worsen the Glasgow housing emergency” and also raised fears over it becoming “party flats”. Supporters said self-catering accommodation would be “a good idea in a busy, visitor-focused area”.
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