Bid to overturn Glasgow West End restaurant refusal rejected

A decision to refuse planning permission to turn a former West End delicatessen into a restaurant has been upheld by Glasgow city councillors.

The site at 126 Byres Road was previously home to a Peckham’s - part of a chain of delicatessens and cafes in Scotland - which operated from 1990 until 2017.

In 2017 the unit was purchased with an aim to continue operating as a delicatessen. When this failed it opened as a Chinese supermarket in 2019 and was rebranded in 2022 as Casey’s convenience store.

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The building is now on the market for retail use but no interest or offer of rent has been made.

Proposals to transform the Byres Road site into a restaurant were brought before members of the planning local review committee on Tuesday morning.

The application was made by DRG hospitality firm who run establishments like Di Maggios, Cafe Andaluz, Anchor Line, The Citizen and Barolo in the city.

But during the meeting, concerns were raised by councillors that there were more bars, cafes and eateries opening up and less shops.

Councillor Saqib Ahmed said: “Byres Road is becoming a more commercial and tourist area. How many hot food establishments are there in the area?”

A council officer informed members that while they didn’t have an exact number the application would result in there being at least 40% restaurant type premises when there should be no more than 30%.

Members then went on to discuss the issues with the proposal. They felt that there hadn’t been enough information provided to approve the company's plans.

Councillor Declan Blench said: “This application is low quality and seems to be incomplete to me. I do not feel comfortable granting it so I don’t think we should.”

Councillor Imran Alam added: “We don’t have much information to go on. If it had been a proper application we would probably have had a better understanding of what the plans are.

“I wish the applicant was more thorough and prepared.”

Bailie Thomas Kerr agreed that the applicant could have provided more information and a proposal like this one could have been good for the area.

He said: “I agree with my colleagues and what has been said. It is a shame because I think it could be a good application.

“Byres Road welcomes new establishments for people to sit outside and enjoy the two days of good weather we get a year.

“The applicant is well within their right to go away and come back with a better proposal. As much as I like to support and encourage local businesses, I would need to refuse this application.”

Bailie Hanif Raja thought the planning department should continue the application and ask for more information.

He said: “I think we are saying that we don’t have enough information. We should ask the applicant to take this on board and give feedback to us.”

Following a vote, the majority of councillors agreed to refuse the application.

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