In a first for the city, the council will ask architects to submit high-quality design proposals for new buildings on the sites that will complement the town centre at Albert Cross and be sympathetic to the built heritage around it.

Councillor Ruairi Kelly, convener for Housing, Development and Built Heritage at Glasgow City Council, proposed the competition and said: “Through this competition, we will transform the sites at Albert Cross on which these distinctive buildings stood before being lost through fire. We will be looking for exceptional and exciting designs that will restore vibrancy to a location that has been a centre of Pollokshields’ social and business life for generations.”

The B-listed tenement blocks at Albert Cross each housed several flats and businesses and were destroyed in separate fires - the first in November 2019 with the second in April 2020, and both were subsequently demolished.

These derelict sites have blighted this part of Pollokshields since and given the issues around ownership complexities and high development costs, direct intervention by the council will be required to redevelop the sites in the short to medium-term.

Councillor Kelly added: “Carrying out such a contest will not only restore Albert Cross and the homes and businesses lost but will also potentially provide a template for the redevelopment of gap sites in Glasgow, sites which are often found in areas with heritage buildings immediately adjacent or close by.”

This contest will be carried out by the council in collaboration with a partner organisation, the Glasgow Institute of Architects, to enable a design-led approach to these complex sites. Design teams which are shortlisted will also secure funding to help develop their proposals to a more detailed stage before a winner is selected. That practice will then be funded to finalise their design.

Alongside the contest, the council will look to acquire the sites on a voluntary or compulsory purchase basis.