PLANS have been drawn up for the £5million second phase of Glasgow’s first public dance base.

The Briggait Creation Centre will also be Scotland’s first home for the rapidly growing physical performance sector which includes circus, street, theatre, flying trapeze and other aerial skills.

Following the first £6.8million phase of redevelopment in 2009, city based Collective Architecture has been appointed as lead consultant of the development.

The aim of occupants Wasps Studios is to provide a centre which will meet the needs of the dance and physical performance sector and improve what the building has to offer artists and the wider public.

The plan is to develop a 12,000sq ft areas which includes the remaining parts of the 1889 and 1904 halls, along with a gap site on Clyde Street.

It will provide a creative hub for 600 professional artists, physical performers and dancers in the hope of retaining artists in Scotland.

Those behind the scheme say it will create a development which will change the face of The Briggait, breathe new life into the Clyde waterfront in the city centre, reinvigorate the wider Briggait complex and inspire people of all abilities to engage in physical activity and creative performance.

Audrey Carlin, Wasps’ senior executive director for business development, said: “This is a project of huge value to the future of the arts in Scotland.

“We are extremely pleased to have architects on board who have such a clear commitment to the project and a sense of excitement about what can be achieved.

“We are providing professional and amateur artists and performers with an amazing new centre where they can work collaboratively, choreograph performances, rehearse, hold classes and engage local communities in new and exciting forms of physical activity.

“At the same time, the project will ensure one of Glasgow’s most important historic buildings is sensitively redeveloped to give it a sustainable future and to contribute further to the regeneration of the Clyde waterfront and Merchant City.”

The Briggait, which was built in stages between 1873 and 1904 embracing a 17th century stone steeple, was once the city’s fish market and has Scotland’s oldest collection of market halls.