CONSULTATION has started over proposals for around 70 social rent flats at the site of a rundown South Side shopping precinct.

The Wheatley Group plan to demolish Shawbridge Arcade in Pollokshaws and develop eight apartment blocks of four and five floors with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom flats.

Office accommodation for Glasgow Housing Association would also be provided.

The shopping centre site was built in the 1970s and has become dilapidated and abandoned over a number of years.

A website set up as part of pre-application consultation states: “The new plans look to redensify this part of Pollokshaws by replacing the former retail units with housing.

“The design looks to create a new sense of place to this much neglected corner of the city. The concept is to design new active street frontages to the three adjacent streets of Ashtree Road, Greenview Street and MacArthur Square/Shawbridge Street.

“Modern iterations of traditional tenements combined with quality landscaping and kerb appeal look to address and improve the street quality.”

​It continues: “The edge of the site facing MacArthur Street, which holds both the Old Town House of Pollokshaws as well as the John Maclean Memorial Cairn, is vitally important.

“The proposals look to activate the corner block by having ground and first floor offices for Glasgow Housing Association anchored on this point.

“A further redevelopment of the landscaping of this adjoining square shall be covered in future by a further planning application.”