HOPES of an upturn in the house building market have been sparked by plans for residential developments in and around Glasgow.

In recent years, virtually the only applications for new developments to go before city planners were for student flats.

But last week Rosetree Homes was granted permission to partly demolish industrial and warehouse buildings in Fielden Street, in the East End.

The company plans to convert the B-listed structures into 50 flats, with a further 40 new flats in the grounds.

Two other companies have also lodged plans for residential developments.

One of the sites is south of the M74 at Kenmuir Road, Carmyle, and the other is at Daldowie Dovecote, Hamilton Road, Uddingston.

Very few details are known about the planned new development but it is understood the one in Kenmuir Road is for 300 homes, while the other is for four upmarket properties.

Council bosses say they believe there is now reason for optimism that the house building market is slowly emerging from the financial crisis that has crippled the country.

A council spokesman said: "There seems to be grounds for encouragement, with some early signs of a recovery in the housing market being shown.

"There are certainly more applications coming to the planning committee recently than in the past few years and the level of notes of interest, general inquiries and pre- application discussions is on the upturn.

"It may be early days, but cautious optimism is reason­able at this point."

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce also welcomed the increase in activity from house builders. He said: "This is a welcome sign of improvement given house building has been one of the construction markets most severely affected by the recession.

"It is another tangible sign that we are seeing the gradual recovery becoming more established."

John Gallacher, managing director of Cruden Estates - part of the City Legacy Consortium that is delivering the Commonwealth Games Athletes Village - also believes the city is beginning to see the first signs of recovery.

He said: "I think we are beginning to see a renewed optimism in the house building sector, with exciting projects such as the Village coming to fruition.

"There remains a shortage of affordable homes in Glasgow. Cruden, and other housebuilders like us, are continuing to look for opportunities where we can deliver high quality affordable housing for the city.

"We have a number of other projects at various stages of development, including those at planning phase and we anticipate delivering on these in the near future."

The National House Building Council says there has been a 19% increase in the number of new homes registered across the UK.

In Scotland, the number of new properties registered in August and September was 70% more than the corresponding months last year.

Malcolm Macleod, NHBC director Scotland, said: "I am very encouraged by the continuing signs of improvement for the home-building industry in Scotland.

"Total registration levels this year are about 20% up compared to 2012, with levels in the third quarter 39% higher than the corresponding quarter in 2012.

"We have seen particularly impressive results in the private sector with both August and September witnessing registration levels more than 70% higher than the same months in 2012.

"It is further proof that initiatives are really helping in boosting the new home market in Scotland and we look forward to a positive end to the year to round off what would be a good year for Scottish house building."

Richard Tamayo, the organisation's commercial director, said: "Our latest figures show a sustained broad-based recovery in the UK new housing market from an extremely low base.

"There is little doubt that Government schemes, such as the Help To Buy initiative, have significantly contributed to the growth seen throughout this year."

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk