Wheatley Group invest £20m into refurbishment of 'notorious' Glasgow homeless hotel likened to 'Soviet Gulag'

A notorious Glasgow hotel where homeless men were staying in squalid conditions will have a “bright new future”, after plans to partially demolish the building and provide 70 flats were approved.

The Bellgrove Hotel on Gallowgate can undergo a £20.3m transformation as Glasgow City Council has given the go ahead to Wheatley Group’s proposal for the site.

Conditions at the B-listed hotel, which was built in 1937, were previously criticised at Holyrood following an undercover investigation by the Daily Record.

It was likened to a “Soviet gulag” and Dickensian poorhouses after the probe found occupants were housed in tiny rooms looking onto a rat-infested courtyard.

Wheatley Group, the city’s largest social landlord, bought the building from private owners in 2021, with the last men moving out later that year.

Now, the housing association has been granted approval for a plan which will see the hotel turned into 14 flats — eight of which will be wheelchair accessible — and 56 flats built on adjoining land.

Lindsay Lauder, director of development and regeneration at Wheatley Group, said: “This decision paves the way for a bright new future for the Bellgrove and for the Gallowgate.

“Plans will see us invest £20.3m transforming the building into 14 modern, spacious, energy-efficient affordable flats, while still retaining large sections of the former hotel to preserve its long architectural history.”

She added: “By working closely with our partners Glasgow City City Council and the Scottish Government, we’ll also be able to build 56 homes for mid-market rent on the surrounding land and deliver additional much-needed affordable housing in the east of the city.”

Work is due to start later this year and be completed in spring 2026. Once completed, the homes will be owned and managed by Lowther, part of Wheatley Group.

They will be available for mid-market rent which is described as being for households who have an income of less than £40,000 a year and have no priority for social rent. With Lowther, mid-market rents start at £459 per month.

Cllr Kenny McLean, SNP, the council’s housing convener, said the “renewal of the Bellgrove Hotel” is “the next step of the regeneration of the Gallowgate and paves the way for the transformation of another East End neighbourhood”.

“I look forward to the local community continuing to play a key role of the development of the place where they live,” he added.

Key features of the hotel, including the facade, are set to be retained. However, the rear elevation and western wing, which are too narrow to accommodate flats, will be demolished. 

Collective Architecture has been named as the architects for the project, with CCG (Scotland) Ltd as the main contractor.

Neal Whitaker, project architect from Collective Architecture, said: “The social history of the Bellgrove Hotel is well-known. Less widely recognised is the architectural significance of the building, which is one of only two listed buildings in the area and one of the handful of surviving Art Moderne buildings in Glasgow.

“By retaining the architecturally significant front portion of the building, this significant landmark will become part of an ambitious regeneration of the area and a symbol for positive change.”

When the newspaper investigation revealed the conditions faced by men staying at the hotel, it was also reported the hostel’s owners raked in £1.5m in annual fees from taxpayers.

Glasgow MSP John Mason raised a motion calling for better regulation of the hostel, and said the conditions could “generously” be considered “unsuitable” and ‘less generously, grim, Dickensian, like a Soviet gulag or similar descriptions”.

When the hotel closed, over 50 men were offered new Glasgow Housing Association homes in partnership with Lowther Homes.