A GLASGOW West End bar restaurant is urging city planners to let it have outdoor seating.

The Partick Duck Club in Hyndland Street wants to have nine pavement tables. Fold-up benches would be attached to the wall of the building to lessen the impact on the footpath. The tables would be placed indoors at night.

The Partick Duck Club has been open for just over a year — the building was previously the Rio cafe — and is described in the application as a “hugely popular  place to enjoy delicious gourmet food, and partake of a beer or glass of wine”, with the greatest percentage of business being food-driven.

An eloquent statement has been submitted with the application urging Glasgow planners to give the proposal the go-ahead.

It argues: “For many years, Glasgow has promoted the pavement/cafe culture, and to good effect. The city was quick to respond to residents and visitors alike seeking the outdoor experience so prevalent in most European cities…encouraging the dynamic between the indoor dining experience and the alfresco experience which, despite the vagaries of the local climate can still be a stimulating experience — to enjoy a drink with delicious and different foods while indulging in that universal activity of people-watching!”

The statement continues: “In the context of the Partick Duck Club, it enjoys a prime location on Hyndland Street which is one of the few streets linking the edgy and gritty Dumbarton Road with the more residential and chic West End. To that end, Hyndland Street acts as a continuum, harnessing the energy of these quite different areas and a producing a quite delightful street full of differing experiences, the sort of location where the cafe culture can flourish and where there is clear demand.”

The issue of recently-adopted planning guidance  which limits where pavement seating is allowed is also raised.  The document states: “This is a most curious piece of policy in that it appears to reject the fact that Glasgow is a city of tenements and prohibits the placing of tables and chairs on the footpath beneath residential accommodation except in designated ‘Town Centres’.

“At a stroke, vast areas of the city are denied the possibility of having a local cafe with outdoor seating, the very areas where the largest percentage of the population live, the very areas where pavement seating would be most welcome.

“Whilst there may have been merit in this policy being applied to tables and chairs outside public houses where the abuse of alcohol may have been a problem, there seems little merit in imposing the same constraint on cafes and bistros.”

It concludes: “This local eatery is…now well-respected and established, known for fine fare and welcoming bonhomie. It has an eclectic clientele which represents the rich mix of people in this part of the West End, and wants to extend that appeal by offering patrons the opportunity to enjoy fine wines, beers and gourmet food whilst immersing themselves in the local culture and how better to achieve that than by alfresco dining in this pleasant location.”

The application is pending consideration by the planning department.