People are being urged to have their say on the plan to demolish a historic Glasgow church.

Paul Sweeney, North East MSP, called on residents to submit comments on the bid to pull down Hillhead Baptist Church as the deadline is looming.

The politician voiced his disagreement regarding the demolition and called the proposed new building "overbearing".

He said: "A developer wants to demolish the B-listed neo-classical Hillhead Baptist Church, built in 1883 by Thomas L. Watson, and replace it with a clunky block of flats.

"It's uncomfortable to look at, isn't it?

"An insultingly inadequate emulation of the elegant proportions and corner turrets of the adjacent tenements."

Current building (Image: Sourced) (Image: Sourced)

The Labour representative shared a template for an objection letter on his social media and encouraged anyone who agrees with him to use it.

In it, he argued that the demolition of the church would breach the Glasgow Development Plan and added: "Every effort should be made to pursue façade retention that would retain the external architectural amenity of the listed building in whole or part".

Mr Sweeney also raised issues in Parliament today regarding the lack of conservation-accredited engineers being involved in decisions to pull down buildings, including the West End church and the O2 ABC in the city centre.

He told the Holyrood it should be a "necessity" to consult such experts "before any greenlight is given to demolition".

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Proposal (Image: Sourced) (Image: Sourced) Currently, there are four objections under the planning application and the last day to submit them is on Friday this week.

Representatives of Hillhead Community Council cited several concerns in their letter, including the height and design of the building and the size of the entrance door.

They also emphasised they several members of the community object to the demolition altogether.

Developer Wemyss Properties originally petitioned the council to flatten the building to create 29 flats while retaining the B-listed facade.

In March this year, however, the firm revealed that pulling down the entire structure was "unavoidable" due to quick deterioration. 

(Image: Image: Newsquest)

(Image: Sourced)

The amended planning application was submitted earlier this month, now asking for permission for full demolition in order to create 32 flats.

Papers detail that it would be replaced by a five-story residential building, containing accommodation ranging from studio units to three-bedroom penthouse suites.

The proposal also includes a shared garden courtyard with plants and seating and 54 cycle parking spaces.

Some of the homes will also be equipped with private terraces.