On Tuesday morning, they had gathered at the corner of Glasgow's Gordon Street and West Regent Street to bear witness to the final agonies of the Union Corner building as it fought to stay on its feet. Almost two full days after this 175-year-old B-listed landmark had been consumed by a fire which is believed to have begun in a ground-floor vaping shop, firefighters were still in the process of dousing the embers. There are around 50 onlookers and it’s clear that they’re not here merely to gawp and make smartphone footage. They were silent, as though present at the bedside of a loved one whose last breath is imminent. Two streets away, a similar scene was unfolding looking down on the dying building from the corner of Renfield Street and West George Street.

Occasionally, the sun catches a water-jet through one of its window sockets and it begins to look majestic once more. We all know, though, that while three storeys of its stone curvature remain, it’s probably a goner. By this time, Susan Aitken, the leader of Glasgow City Council and John Swinney, the First Minister, have more or less conferred the last rites by talking about safety being paramount and difficult decisions.

Within 72 hours, the worst fears of many Glaswegians are confirmed as a demolition crew began bearing the remains of yet another of the city’s architectural jewels to the grave. At moments like these it’s tempting to mock the sentimentality and affection that Glasgow’s citizens have for their built heritage. What can they know of what’s considered architecturally important and what’s not? What do they know of aesthetics who live on off-the-peg housing estates?

A demolition crew begin bringing the building down (Image: Colin Mearns)

Well, quite a lot as it turns out. And not only do they know what looks good in their city and what doesn’t; these historic buildings form the backdrop to the big moments in our lives. Lately, they’ve become alarmed at how many of them are coming down, and how quickly. This and their replacement by brick shoe-boxes conveying all the aesthetic charm of mini nuclear power stations.

My own (admittedly rudimentary) straw poll of my fellow citizens about what they think will replace the Union Corner elicits a dismissive “more student flats”.

Among the mourners is the Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney who has become the de facto chief advocate for conserving the city’s built heritage. He’s taken up more or less permanent residence here over the course of the week. His visibility and intimate knowledge of Glasgow’s at-risk buildings stands in contrast to the city council, whose senior officers appear to have been largely silent and absent.

It makes Mr Sweeney an easy target for the SNP who never miss an opportunity to stick the boot in to him whenever you dare to mention his name in their presence. He’s also resented by some major building developers who’ve seen their plans to cash in on old buildings previously thwarted by his securing listed status before the wrecking-balls arrive.

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Like many across Scotland’s architectural and heritage sector, Mr Sweeney has been alarmed by what he considers the undue haste with which the decision to demolish the remnants of the Union Corner building has been taken.

He’d asked the First Minister on Tuesday to provide assurance that CARE (conservation-accredited registered engineers) with the right expertise had been brought in to assess the remaining elevation to Gordon Street for any possibility of its preservation or careful dismantling for future reinstatement.

He’d also contacted Glasgow City Council’s head of building control to introduce a named conservation-accredited engineer and architect who had offered their support, but had yet to receive any response.

Mr Sweeney added: “It’s disappointing that Glasgow City Council, who have no in-house conservation-accredited experts, have rushed to condemn this listed building to full demolition within a matter of hours of the site being handed over, without first undertaking this prudent step, which has been the subject of a long-running campaign for reform in the Scottish Parliament.”

Even now, he’s hopeful that the council might laser-scan the surviving remnants with a view to faithful reinstatement when a new building goes up. Will a careful hand-demolition process take place to preserve as much of the surviving structure as possible? Similar concerns have been expressed by the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS).

This week their chair, Jocelyn M Cunliffe sent a letter to Raymond Barlow, the deputy head of Building Control, Planning and Building Standards at Glasgow City Council. In it, Ms Cunliffe said: “We are all disappointed that this major fire has occurred in the heart of historic Glasgow, in an area with a high concentration of important listed buildings.

“The AHSS has been concerned about the demolition of dangerous buildings without the advice of a CARE engineer and given the prominence of this landmark location and the level of national interest in its fate, options for partial retention of the remaining elevation should be assessed.

Paul Sweeney MSP, left, and Herald writer Kevin McKenna on Glasgow's Gordon Street following the aftermath of the fire at Union Corner (Image: Colin Mearns)

“Whilst we appreciate that the situation will still be unclear, can we encourage the council to do what it can to save the remaining street facades, including seeking specialist engineering advice.”

The AHSS also made submissions to Holyrood’s Petitions Committee in a petition brought by Lydia Franklin on behalf of SAVE Britain’s Heritage. It calls on the Scottish Parliament “to urge the Scottish Government to set a minimum evidence requirement to prevent unnecessary use of emergency public safety powers to demolish listed buildings”.

When I approached the AHSS about their concerns regarding the council’s quick move to demolish the Union Corner building, they said: “Basically, the council are in a hurry and don’t want to get involved in trying to secure or closely examine the façade to Gordon Street and attempt to record and save/support stonework.”

Ahead of the demolition order, I’d asked Glasgow City Council if they’re preferred option would be to salvage what remains of the building. I also asked them if they’d begun taking soundings from independent experts who are on the CARE register and to confirm whether or not any of the council’s own engineers had the gold standard CARE kite-mark.

A council spokesperson replied: “Any decision is based on public safety being the first and ultimate consideration. In terms of the other two points, heritage accreditation is not relevant to the assessment of a building in terms of its basic structural stability and whether it presents a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public: existing structural expertise within the council can be relied upon to determine this.”

“Can I assume then that none of the council’s in-house personnel are CARE registered,” I asked him. “I’ve asked, but I have to say that this is not relevant to a public safety decision. I have to emphasise that the members of the Building Standards & Public Safety team are qualified to the highest level. Raymond Barlow, for example, is probably the leading person in the field in Scotland.”

When I put these comments to one of Scotland’s top building heritage architects, he was dismayed. “It’s very alarming to learn that the council doesn’t believe that heritage experts are fit to make assessments where public safety is concerned. In fact, it’s entirely false.”

Paul Sweeney has dealt with often with the council’s building control department, though, and not always in the most agreeable circumstances. The MSP is a director of the Glasgow City Heritage Trust and member of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust. There’s also resentment across the architectural heritage sector that engineers and architects with specialist expertise in restoration are not considered suitable to advise on building preservation where there are safety issues.

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In its submission to Holyrood’s Petitions Committee, the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland said: “Appropriate consultation should include the expertise of a conservation accredited structural engineer to determine the minimum works necessary to a listed building to protect the public and to advise on the necessary measures to make a listed building safe which avoids excessive or total demolition.”

Another CARE-registered professional said: “Conservation accreditation should invoke the highest standards of independent expert assessment and not a couple of hours of assessment by a council officer who can’t ignore political influence.”

The concerns about Glasgow City Council’s haste to demolish the Union Corner building are rooted in what it portends for many of the city’s other grand buildings. On the watch of the current administration, large parts of the city centre have become graveyards for our built heritage: the ABC Cinema on Sauchiehall Street; the magnificent Elgin Place Congregational Church (later Cardinal Follies nightclub); the Springburn Public Halls; the Cooperative Building in Tradeston and the Coliseum Cinema in Laurieston. These and many others have come down when they may have been saved if they’d been scrutinised by specialist engineers with the highest level of heritage expertise. It suggests that the council, who are the principal carers for Glasgow’s built heritage, may be abdicating that responsibility.

Kevin McKenna is Scotland's Feature Writer of the Year

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