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The Herald Scotland
11-07-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Attempt to strip historic Glasgow Vogue cinema's listed status fails
The Art Deco cinema - also known as The Mecca – faced being torn down in 2023, but Glasgow City Council issued a building preservation notice in January 2024. It was then granted listed status by Historic Environment Scotland following an inspection, only for this to be appealed by owners Allied Vehicles. The Scottish Government's reporter has now thrown out that appeal, after considering the 'cultural significance' of the cinema and its unique, historic architecture. The reporter's investigation has now been made public. Dismissing the appeal, they said: 'In the circumstances of this case, I find that what remains of the building is of special architectural and historic interest. 'There are no factors which would justify the building not being listed. Consequently, the building should remain listed.' The Art Deco Vogue opened in 1933 (Image: NQ) With a storied history serving the community of Possilpark, the Vogue was built in 1933 to a design by the renowned architect James McKissak, and has been used as a cinema and bingo hall. Much of the building has become derelict, but the front structure remains, as do some of the architectural features. Now the appeal has been dismissed, the building will be subject to strict controls and will be protected from demolition unless it become too dangerous to leave standing. The owners will also have a duty to preserve what remains. The report said: 'I have considered the building's design, architecture, age and rarity; its setting and historical location, function and importance; and its social and cultural significance together with the changes over time which have altered the building and its surrounds. 'I agree with HES that cinemas as a building type were once common across Scotland but those surviving from the 1930s period are now exceptional. Architect Professor Alan Dunlop, who has been vocal in his support of retaining the cinema, said he was 'delighted' the appeal had been rejected. The architect believes it is now time for a 'reasonable compromise' to resolve the situation, and called for the owner to submit a new planning application which preserves what remains of the building. Professor Alan Dunlop outside the Vogue Cinema (Image: NQ) Prof Dunlop, a Fellow Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, said: 'As someone born in Springburn and who lived just off Hawthorn Street, close to the junction of Balmore Road, the Vogue Cinema was distinctive and it marked an important road junction. 'The Springburn that I knew, particularly Springburn Road which was once a thriving shopping and community street, has been destroyed, The Princess Cinema on Gourley Street and many other buildings of architectural merit have been demolished. 'Possilpark now seems to be suffering the same fate. The Vogue Cinema is not a classic but it is the only building of any character and architectural worth left in this area of Possilpark and certainly worthy of retaining.' He added: 'As an architect with forty years experience of building major projects, including working with listed buildings and on conservation projects, bringing them back to life, I know this building can be and should be saved. 'Granting the appeal would have created an unwelcome precedent and perverse incentive for any owner to unilaterally seek to demolish a building that is subject to a designation assessment before Historic Environment Scotland has had the opportunity to conclude its assessment.
The Herald Scotland
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
These are the latest plans at the Glasgow School of Art. Really?
The latest example of the anywhere factor – a particularly egregious example – is the plan for the site on Sauchiehall Street down the hill from the Glasgow School of Art. Until a few months ago, it was where the old ABC cinema was but there was a fire you'll remember – always a fire – and there's been discussion ever since about what should go up in its place. This week we got a look at what it might be. Prepare yourselves. From the front, it's very like the buildings I saw in Bath Street and Bolton: an anywhere building built with anywhere steel and anywhere bricks. The plan is for 356 student flats with food halls and cafes underneath and the developers, Vita, say it'll 'generate economic benefits, re-energise Sauchiehall Street and contribute to the city's Golden Z ambitions'. But we know what's going on here really: cheapo student flats allow for maximum profit in a way better quality accommodation wouldn't, partly because of rent controls, and so that's what we get: cheapo student flats. But here's where the anywhere factor kicks in. Out on the edges of the city, or in a place where there are lots of other modern buildings, the flats proposed for Sauchiehall Street might be OK – bland but OK. But the building isn't just anywhere – it's slap bang in front of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art, or what's left of it after the fire and the second fire (always a fire). If there's any site that needs careful consideration for the context, heritage and history, then this is it. Read more Mack rebuild 'at risk' from ABC warns Glasgow Art School | The Herald No more Edinburgh Book Festival for me – where did it all go wrong? A Scottish legend says cancel culture is over. Yeah right A Pride hate crime on Arran? No, just a sign of where we are now The developers appear to think the space they've designed behind the flats and in front of the School of Art will mitigate the new building's size and effect and have created pictures of people strolling around it on a sunny day. Firstly, sunny day: hah. Secondly, in a letter in The Herald today, the architect Alan Dunlop says he's looked at the images and believes you might get sunlight into such a space but only in high summer and only if you removed four or five of the storeys from the front of the buildings. It means, in his view, that the images of the sunlit public space are misleading. The fact that Glasgow planners have recommended the plans for approval is also an indication the council still isn't getting the balance right between protecting and enhancing the built heritage and trying to find an economic model for the city centre. Developers are building many flats to accommodate thousands of students – and to some extent that's fair enough, the number of students in Glasgow has increased and there's a shortage of accommodation. But speak to anyone in academia and they'll you the university model built on lots of international students paying big fat fees is under strain and in some cases, collapsing. So what happens when the student numbers start to drop again? More specifically, what happens to buildings such as the student flats proposed for down the hill from the Art School? Penny Macbeth, the director of the school, has acknowledged in her response to the proposal that there will be some economic benefits but she also points out that economic benefits have to be balanced against the longer-term impacts. She says the gap site is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform an important part of the city. She also says the reconstruction of Mackintosh's masterpiece as a working art school will bring economic, social, cultural and regeneration benefits to the city. But the second depends on the first: the benefits depend on the transformation being sensitive, balanced, proportionate and part of a wider coherent plan for a conservation area and I see no signs of any of it I'm afraid. As Professor Macbeth says, the opportunity is there. You have a site just below the Art School that has Garnethill on one side and Blythswood, Glasgow's New Town, on the other and it could be a very elegant place indeed. One option would be to create a public square but even if that was considered unviable, you could certainly revise the flats proposal to ensure it had less of a detrimental impact. Professor Macbeth says she believes a solution could be found which delivers financial viability for the developers while mitigating the impact on the Art School and the city's built heritage. The Art School (Image: Newsquest) So with that in mind, here are a few factors for councillors to consider before they take the final decision tomorrow. Firstly, how important are the student flats long-term? The 356 students (probably more) living in the 356 student flats won't pay any council tax; the student bubble is also going to burst at some point soon, so what happens then? The short-term benefits also have to be balanced against the longer-term legacy: creating a public space that enhances the city's built heritage – including its most famous building. And remember the anywhere factor: this is an important part of Glasgow so the buildings that go up there should feel like Glasgow, and make Glasgow better. We know this is how lots of influential people see it: over 130 individuals and organisations have objected to the plans including Historic Environment Scotland, The Mackintosh Society and many others, and they're all saying pretty much the same thing: these plans are too big, they have little architectural merit, and they will have an adverse effect on a conservation area and the appreciation and setting of the masterwork of an architectural mastermind. I think that's more than enough to say: stop. But I fear that when the decision is taken, the council will say: go. Where's the bigger plan though? I walked round Blythswood recently with the historian Graeme Smith who's written a fine book about the area, and one of the points he made was that there's been no clear leadership on the place and no wider strategy. If such a strategy existed – a strategy to create a fine public space that showcases the Art School and reflects Glasgow's heritage, a place where people want to linger – we could decide, case by case, whether any new buildings fit with the plan. Perhaps a revised version of the Sauchiehall Street flats would fit. But at it stands, the current plan raises only one important question: why are we building an anywhere building in somewhere that really matters?
The Herald Scotland
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Can this built heritage war room save a crumbling Glasgow?
Representatives attended from New Glasgow Society, Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, National Trust of Scotland, Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, Glasgow City Heritage Trust, Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, Glasgow School of Art, Historic Environment Scotland, Alexander Thomson Society, Glasgow Institute of Architects, and the Architectural Heritage Fund. Esteemed architects Alan Dunlop and Scott Abercrombie were also there. Notably absent was anyone from Glasgow City Council. I was assured an invite had been sent. There was a lot of hurt and a lot of hope in the room. And a lot of questions for the council that could not be answered because no one from the local authority was present. Why, for example, are they considering selling the McLellan Galleries on Sauchiehall Street? 'If Glasgow wants to have an international exhibition, it needs to have something resonating,' Stuart Robertson says. 'Kelvingrove doesn't cope with that.' The McLellan Galleries are a great exhibition space. Why are we not using the building as such? Alas, the council says they do not have a 'core operational need' for the B-listed gem. Sauchiehall Street is currently the site of a major PR makeover that will see money pumped into it to create a new Culture and Heritage District. It would be nice to revive the 2007 plans to turn the McLellan Galleries into a Gallery of Scottish Art in the city. We could charge a small fee for exhibitions and create a self-funded culture and heritage asset worthy of the new district. Mackintosh Church (Image: Newsquest) Another thorn was the announcement last week that £2 million in funding from the UK Government would be going straight to The Lighthouse in the city centre. Everyone agrees that the A-listed former Herald offices are worthy of a makeover, but confusion abounds as to how the decision was made. I asked the council, and a spokesperson said the investment was to make it more attractive and fit for purpose to lease out. Permission to negotiate a lease with Sustainable Ventures to turn the Mackintosh building into a Net Zero Innovation Hub was agreed in February. 'None of this funding will go to Sustainable Ventures, no lease has been signed, and negotiations are ongoing,' the spokesperson added. The money will be used to fix defects in the building. 'I think the recurring theme is a lack of systems thinking,' Paul Sweeney says. The Lighthouse and Kelvin Hall (which is getting £600,000 in funding) might be 'worthy' projects, "but the decisions were made by officers behind closed doors,' he adds. 'They weren't decided democratically, openly or transparently. And I don't think that's a sustainable way to allocate two and a half million pounds in capital funding.' I look around the room and nervously pop blueberries in my mouth from my paper plate. I am no expert on built heritage, but these folks are. Surely, I think, these should be the people our city takes advice from with every decision regarding heritage and redevelopment? But after an hour, I get the feeling these key figures do not feel in the loop. The look of surprise that danced across the face of a representative from the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust when the sale of the McLellan Galleries was mentioned was fairly telling. The sentiment at the round table was that there must be more transparency between the council and the organisations represented when it comes to decisions that affect built heritage. There was a lot of love for a Compulsory Purchase Order being used to take back the Egyptian Halls, but why don't we use them more often? Why did they make the 'stupid' decision to scrap business rates relief for empty and partially empty buildings in the city? Why are we installing PVC windows in conservation areas? READ MORE Glasgow has an incredible, passionate population of experts and enthusiasts who are deeply committed to protecting the fabric of the city. By the end of the meeting, we had heard some pretty good ideas about how to tackle the derelict building crisis. Take, for example, bringing experts back into the council. We need joined-up thinking to bring the city to its full potential. A team that decides what should go up and what should get torn down. What should be sold, and what should be kept and repurposed. 'We're a city of architecture without a city architect,' Alan Dunlop tells me later over the phone. 'I think that's ridiculous.' Glasgow City Council has spent more than £280 million on heritage buildings and projects over the last dozen years. But the built heritage situation is still a calamity. And the council is the largest owner of derelict buildings in the city. I empathise that they don't have the budget to fix everything, but the consensus in this room is pretty clear: more needs to be done. Decisions need to be made better and more openly. And evidently from this discussion, we have the expertise to do it. It's just not getting tapped into. I leave feeling more optimistic than I thought I would. It's not every day that senior-level architects, politicians and conservationists come together for a meeting over coffee, cakes and fruit. Let's hope the next time this impressive situation room gets together, the council sends a liaison. Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
