PLANS to turn a Burnside pet shop into an estate agents have been knocked back by councillors.

A change of use application for the unit occupied by Creature Comforts on Stonelaw Road would have allowed a sixth estate agents to set up in the town centre.

However, Rutherglen Central and North councillor Martin Lennon said that the council “can plan the use” of the shop and that it was “a strategic asset” as a retail premises.

Councillors voted by 15 to seven at a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday, January 26 in favour of a motion by Cllr Carol Nugent (Rutherglen South) to refuse the application.

Cllr Nugent said: “We all know that the high street has changed significantly over the years and it is going to continue to do so.

“We need to protect the vibrant and bustling areas that we have and the diversity of our high street. I think it would be a big mistake to change the use from retail to office.”

The landlord for the unit submitted the change of use application after the current tenant served a notice to quit in December 2019.

A new prospective tenant has since been found but, as estate agents are not retail businesses, they would need the council’s permission before they could start working from the unit.

In total, 178 objections to the proposal were lodged with South Lanarkshire Council with a number of people concerned about the number of estate agents already in Burnside.

Rutherglen South councillor Margaret Cowie seconded Cllr Nugent’s proposal to refuse permission and added: “There are already five estate agents in that one street.

“The pet shop is very popular and while we can’t determine who gets the use of that retail unit, there are 178 objects which shows you the strength of feeling.”

Planning and building standards manager Tina Meikle said that a retail unit moving to a class two unit “would be acceptable in planning terms”.

She added: “The landlord has submitted evidence to indicate that the current tenant exercised their option to terminate the lease early and served a notice to quit in December 2019.

“It is not a council owned property. The council are the planning authority and have no other remit in terms of the occupancy.

“There is a concern about the number of estate agents that already exist in Burnside. Strictly, that is not a planning issue.

“What is a planning issue is for us to consider the amount of retail that is in any one centre.”

Head of planning, Pauline Elliott, said the council was “under pressure to be more flexible about use classes” because “retail is dying all around us”.

Officers had recommended that the proposal be granted as they felt the mix of businesses in Burnside wouldn’t be adversely affected.

However, Cllr Lennon was one of a number that disagreed and he summed up the main reason councillors voted to reject the application.

He said: “It is really easy to dismiss it as ‘we don’t get to decide the tennants’ but we do get to decide the use.

“The use is a planning consideration. These are assets that the planning committee has a responsibility to plan their use effectively.

“If we are going to protect these centres, we need to have a strategic approach to it.

“I actually couldn’t care less if it is a pet shop. The reason I think it should stay as a retail unit is because it is a strategic asset.

“There is a limited number of retail spaces in that block and I think we should be treating them strategically.

“It is one of the few vibrant neighbourhood retail centres that we have got left and I think it is something we should be very careful to maintain.”