{"id":661493,"date":"2025-12-30T02:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/661493\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T02:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:05:11","slug":"o2-abc-regeneration-cannot-come-at-cost-of-the-mack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/661493\/","title":{"rendered":"O2 ABC regeneration \u2018cannot come at cost\u2019 of the Mack"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Both parties have submitted statements before two hearings are held on January 20 by a reporter, who has been appointed by the Scottish Government<\/a> to consider the case.\n<\/p>\n

\n Glasgow\u2019s planning committee approved urban regeneration development firm Vita Group\u2019s plans for the O2 ABC site on Sauchiehall Street<\/a> earlier this year, but the decision was called in by the Scottish Government.\n<\/p>\n

\n The School of Art has said the scheme would put the rebuild of the fire-hit Mackintosh building at \u201csignificant risk\u201d, but the owners of the site have accused it of \u201cstanding in the way of progress\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n Plans approved for student accommodation on O2 ABC site<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n Scottish ministers to review Glasgow O2 ABC redevelopment plan<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n ‘Sad’: Final end to a historic Scots music venue sparks new heritage row<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n Stuart West, the reporter, will consider the potential impact of the plan on the Mack at the hearings, which will be attended by agents for the developers and the art school as well as council representatives and Historic Environment<\/a> Scotland officials.\n<\/p>\n

\n The ABC venue was damaged by a fire at the Mackintosh building in 2018 and, along with the former Jumpin\u2019 Jaks nightclub, has been vacant since. A dangerous buildings notice was issued by the council in July last year and parts of the ABC, including its facade, have been knocked down.\n<\/p>\n

\n In its statement ahead of the hearings, planning consultants Porter Planning, on behalf of the School of Art, say it \u201cremains a committed partner in the regeneration of Glasgow city centre<\/a>\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHowever, regeneration cannot come at the cost of the permanent degradation of the city\u2019s most significant cultural asset.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n It claims the development introduces \u201can oppressive sense of enclosure, fundamentally altering the character of the Mackintosh Building\u201d and that the art school is \u201cactively working towards a funded, phased pathway to faithful reinstatement\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n The proposal promises an open area to admire the Mackintosh building (Image: Vita Group)\n<\/p>\n

\n Property<\/a> consultants Iceni Project, on behalf of House of Social, which is part of Vita Group, say the fires \u201cdestroyed the fabric of Mackintosh\u2019s original building\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n The statement adds the effects of the proposal on the \u201calready poorly lit\u201d Mack are \u201climited\u201d. \u201cNo factual information has been provided that the Mackintosh Building can be restored,\u201d it continues.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cNor whether it can be restored in a manner in which the areas of the building impacted by the proposed development will be fundamentally the same as they were originally designed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The plan would \u201cpositively enhance the setting of the Glasgow School of Art while addressing the long-term dereliction and townscape harm created by the loss of the former ABC venue\u201d, the developers claim.\n<\/p>\n

\n Historic Environment Scotland (HES) objected to the redevelopment proposal as it believed the planned nine-storey building would affect the setting of the A-listed \u2018Mack\u2019 building, obscuring important views to and from it.\n<\/p>\n

\n The ABC venue was damaged by a fire at the Mackintosh building in 2018 (Image: Newsquest)\n<\/p>\n

\n As a result of HES\u2019 objection, Scottish Ministers had to be notified of the ruling and had a 28-day period from being notified to decide whether to call-in the application and make their own determination.\n<\/p>\n

\n Ahead of the hearing, HES\u2019 statement claims: \u201cA restored building would be of value in much the same way as other nationally and internationally important buildings that have been rebuilt, for example, Uppark House, Hampton Court Palace, Venice Opera House, Notre Dame.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n If the plan goes ahead, the School of Art \u201cwould become visually divorced from its city, which is of key importance to its \u2018sense of place\u2019 and cultural significance\u201d, HES stated.\n<\/p>\n

\n The Charles Rennie Mackintosh<\/a> Society has said the juxtaposition of the proposed student accommodation with the art school is \u201cjarring\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n A statement from the society adds the development would \u201cundermine the setting of the art school\u201d. It continues: \u201cThe Mackintosh building is like a castle perched on its hill and has always looked out over the city.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe scale of this proposed development will have a devastating effect on the south elevation of Mackintosh\u2019s masterpiece and compromise the building\u2019s intended function where daylight is integral to its design and purpose.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Glasgow City Council<\/a> officials had recommended the project \u2013 which includes 356 student beds as well as a publicly-accessible foodhall that would become an events space at night \u2013 could be approved.\n<\/p>\n

\n In its statement, the council adds: \u201cOn balance, the proposal\u2019s impact on the setting of the Mackintosh Building must be weighed against the negative impact of the existing site, and the significant benefits of redeveloping a derelict site that currently harms the historic environment and the vitality of the city centre.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n It states no approach has been made to the planning department over restoration work at the Mack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Both parties have submitted statements before two hearings are held on January 20 by a reporter, who has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,918,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-661493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-glasgow","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115806071847486017","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}