HUNDREDS of student flats are planned for a canal- bank site which has lain derelict for more than 20 years.

Spiers Wharf Developments has applied to build accommodation for 235 students in Garscube Industrial Estate, in Maryhill.

The site is on the banks of the Forth and Clyde canal, which is undergoing dramatic regeneration.

The plan is to build a five-storey block as well as a 134ft-tall 12 storey block.

The development would feature 47 communal kitchens/lounges, three artist studios and a towpath level cafe, with outdoor seating, which would be open to the public.

But the plan has resulted in 22 objections, from Hillhead councillor Martha Wardrop, the Architectural Society of Scotland and neighbouring residents.

A masterplan has been drawn up to transform the canal area and already a number of important arts organisations have moved into the area.

Scottish Canals recently submitted a planning application for a new pedestrian bridge over the canal to the north of Spiers Wharf and is considering a range of environmental schemes.

They include residential moorings at Spiers Wharf and the Applecross Basin and various improvements to the towpath.

The new student flats would be phase one of a three-phase development which would result in a further 330 student bedrooms being built, bringing the total to 565.

Richard Brown, the city council's executive director of development and regeneration, states in a report: "The development would be a further catalyst for change in the area and that is consistent with the masterplan's vision of a mixed-use arts quarter incorporating educational, residential and cultural activity.

"On this basis the principle of a student development is considered acceptable."

But Ms Wardrop is worried about the impact of the student block on the B-listed Spiers Wharf housing development on the other side of the canal.

Another objector states: "The development is highly likely to be anti-social.

"Residents of the new campus and their visitors will create far too much noise in this residential area."

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk