Five new student flats proposed for Stirling city centre

The building put forward for development was once part of a restaurant but now lies unused.

By Alex Watson

March 28 2025, 5:28pm

The proposed site is tucked away behind busy Dumbarton Road. Image: Google Street View

A proposal for five new student flats in Stirling city centre has been put forward.

The request to convert a storage building behind Dumbarton Road into student accommodation was submitted to Stirling Council by Dunblane-based Crawford Holdings Ltd.

Creating new on-site parking and cycle storage as well as carrying out landscaping is also part of the same plan.

According to the application, the building to the rear of 21 Dumbarton Road was once part of a restaurant, but is now a separate space.

The rest of the site is described as “unused land which is currently neglected and fenced off pending development.”

The plans for the exterior of the proposed new student accommodation block. Image: Helix Architecture Studio/Stirling Council

Designs for the proposed flats show five separate accessible main-door apartments, each with a small, private garden.

The residences would all be located at ground floor level, and would each have one bedroom, one shower room, and a combined kitchen and living room space.

Outside, the plans show five parking spaces and one accessible parking space, as well as an enclosed bike store and bin store.

The applicant says the development “aims to revitalise an underutilised site” without impacting any of the existing homes or residents at nearby Crosbies Court.

Owner says land is becoming fly-tipping hotspot

Crawford Holdings Ltd says it has owned the site for over 20 years.

The company previously secured planning permission to build six student flats, with space for more than 20 occupants, in both 2016 and 2023.

However, it said “prohibitively high construction costs” ultimately made those developments “financially unfeasible.”

Each flat would have its own garden, front door and parking space. Image: Helix Architecture Studio/Stirling Council

The landowner claims the unused land is becoming a hotspot for illegal fly-tipping, despite efforts to secure it with a fence.

“At this point, our only economically viable solution is to create a low impact development using the existing building,” said Crawford Holdings Ltd in its application to Stirling Council.

Elsewhere in the city, the derelict former Jackie’s Bar on Lower Bridge Street could be torn down to make way for a four-storey student accommodation building with 18 bedrooms, if proposed plans are approved.