PART of the the former Meat Market site in Glasgow’s East End will be transformed into hundreds of new flats.

Planning permission to develop 252 affordable mid-market apartments and one commercial unit at Duke Street and Bellgrove Street was unanimously approved by members of the City Council’s planning committee yesterday (Tuesday).

The development will include 79 one-bedroom flats and 173 two-bedroom flats. Twenty wheelchair accessible flats will be located on the ground floor.

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The scheme will also provide 130 car parking spaces and 18 cycle storage spaces located within dedicated internal storage rooms.

The Meat Market was opened in 1878 and ran until 1967 when the Glasgow Corporation decided they should build a new abattoir in order to modernise the processes and improve the meat trade world wide.

It stayed open until 2001 and was finally demolished in 2007.

Since then, with the exception of the residential development in the southern part off of Gallowgate, the site has lain vacant.

Proposals for the new six storey building are considered to be of a similar scale of the former four storey Meat Market. It is hoped the development will make the area more attractive.

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The proposal is the first phase in the regeneration of the site. Future phases for its remainder, including proposals for the retained meat market sheds will come forward in due course.

A report submitted to councillors said: “The proposal supports the wider regeneration aspects of the site mentioned above.

“The layout of the development helps to reanimate Duke Street and Bellgrove Street, improving the safety for pedestrians using the street. A new commercial space at ground floor level at the corner of Duke Street and Bellgrove Street will provide vibrancy. “