“Where will another 100 cars go?” Angry residents warn streets are already bursting as major housing plan faces a community backlash.
The mood changed quickly. When architects unveiled plans for 139 new homes in Anderston, residents expected to hear about design, landscaping and regeneration.
Instead, the discussion turned to a problem they say they live with every day.
Parking.
At an Anderston Community Council meeting last Tuesday, residents challenged the development team face-to-face, warning that hundreds of new residents could bring a wave of additional vehicles into streets they say are already struggling to cope.
The vacant former Lidl site at 30 Finnieston Street and Minerva Street has been earmarked for a major residential development by site owners L&S Glasgow Finnieston Limited, with Mosaic Architecture + Design presenting revised proposals for the site.
But residents told the meeting their biggest concern was not the buildings — it was what would happen outside them.
One community councillor warned:
“That is the problem with parking. There will be 100 cars at least. Flats with no parking will try and park somewhere.”
They added:
“The residents at this development will never get a parking permit.
Minerva Street has parking on both sides of the road. That is going to create conflict. It will cause mayhem.
“You need to get a way to get more parking into your scheme.”
🚗 ‘THE STREETS ARE ALREADY FULL’
Residents described an area where finding a parking space can already feel like a daily battle.
Cars are regularly parked tightly along streets, with some residents claiming vehicles are forced onto pavements because demand has outstripped supply.
Another community councillor told the meeting:
“People park everywhere and on the pavements. We have thousands in Anderston without a parking space.”
Others said the assumption that households would only have one vehicle did not reflect modern family life.
“In our experience there is more than one car in every family,” one resident said.
“You can’t say one car per household because a lot of families have two and three cars. Where are they going to go?”
Another resident added:
“I have a family and one space but we have three cars.”
🅿️ RESIDENTS RAISE PARKING PERMIT CONCERNS
The debate also highlighted a wider frustration among some residents living in newer developments.
They claim that some homes built after parking permit rules changed are unable to access residential permits, leaving households competing for limited street spaces.
The issue is also acknowledged in the developer's own supporting documents, which state that restrictions on council parking permits for new-build developments in the area “continues to present a significant challenge” — an admission that sits at the heart of residents’ concerns about where future occupiers will park.
Residents argue this creates a difficult situation: more city-centre housing is being encouraged, but the infrastructure around those homes is struggling to keep pace. Their concern is that without enough dedicated parking, pressure will simply move onto neighbouring streets
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