You may remember the story of the Vogue, the old art deco cinema in the north of Glasgow. It was very nearly demolished – I stood and watched the guys in hard hats starting to rip it apart last year. But there was a stushie, the council intervened (eventually), the building was listed (just in time) and everyone thought: good, it’s been saved. But I bring you bad news: a new battle is being fought over the building. It’s not over yet.

We knew this was a possibility last summer when Historic Environment Scotland (HES) announced they were listing the cinema as a building of special historic and architectural interest, giving it official legal protection. In the small print of the announcement was that Allied Vehicles, who own the building, could appeal to the Scottish Government within six months and in due course that is what they did.

Appeals in this area are heard by the Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division and a hearing was held this week. In attendance were HES, lawyers for the owners, and Glasgow City Council among others, and over three and a half hours, Alasdair Edwards, the official who’ll make the decision on behalf of the government, heard evidence on how the building came to be nearly demolished, how it came to be listed by HES, what the council’s role was in all of this, and whether the ultimate decision to list and protect the building was the right one.

This was not a hearing, I have to........

© Herald Scotland