Former STV Studios site in Glasgow earmarked for student flats

The land in Glasgow city centre was part of Scottish Television’s vast studio and office space from 1974 through to 2006.

The area next to The Theatre Royal on Renfrew Street and Renfield Street could be home to nearly 500 student accommodation and facilities following research by ES Renfield Ltd, part of McAleer & Rushe Property, that original proposals for office space would fail to find any businesses interested in taking on the site.

Scottish Television began broadcasting from The Theatre Royal in 1957, later expanding on land adjacent to the television theatre in the early 1970s. In 1974 STV’s Cowcaddens Complex was officially opened by Princess Alexandra on the 12th of December 1974. It was home to regional programmes as well as ITV network offerings from Scottish Television such as game show Wheel of Fortune, drama Taggart and soap opera Take The High Road. It was also home to CITV series such as Fun House.

Later in the 1970s The Theatre Royal was sold to Scottish Opera and became the first national opera house in Scotland. The building, opened 1867, became the home of Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet. The theatre continues to operate from the site currently. STV moved to new Head Quarters in 2006 at Pacific Quay, near the BBC Scotland HQ. The majority of the 1970s building at Cowcaddens was then demolished.

The current STV HQ on the south side of the River Clyde in Glasgow

Part of the regeneration of the site has seen a Citizen M Hotel and Maldron Hotel built and the final phase has seen ES Renfield Ltd submit plans to Glasgow City Council for permission to construct 432 student apartments in a sixteen-storey development as well as a general lounge, private dining space, cinema, bar, gym, TV room and study area. Social areas are also planned on the rooftop, which would include a ‘biodiversity green roof’  as well as gardens and communal terraces.

STV News reports that ‘Almost 450 student flats had been included in an initial proposal which eventually led to the construction of the Maldron Hotel. However, the plan was withdrawn after talks with council planners and a revised hotel-only scheme was submitted, with the hotel completed in 2021.’ Consent for an eleven-storey office building on the site was approved in 2019 but “will not be implemented due to changing office market and viability considerations” the new application notes.

A report also submitted as part of the new plans revealed that the “proposed development will help meet housing needs from the 77,640 full-time students living in Glasgow”. With ES Renfield adding, “There is a clear undersupply of student accommodation in Glasgow and strong demand for additional bed spaces,” the application added. “The application site offers an opportunity to provide professionally managed student housing at the right location, which will benefit from ongoing regeneration in the local area.”

The Theatre Royal. Glasgow