Planning Objection to the Demolition of Listed Façade at 86–90 Maxwell Street / 40 Fox Street, Glasgow

📸 Colin M. Drysdale (@is_glasgow)

A Planning application has been made to Glasgow City Council to demolish the Category B listed façade of the former McCorquodale’s Printers building at 86–90 Maxwell Street / 40 Fox Street, Glasgow.

McCorquodales was one of the largest printers in the UK, and specialised in printing tickets, timetables, posters and other materials for the rail industry.

Both buildings are Category B-listed. However, the one on the left is now threatened with demolition to be replaced by a hotel and short stay apartment building.

Objections must be made to Glasgow City Council by midnight on Wednesday, 16 July 2025.

To object, simply email your concerns citing Objection to Planning Applications 25/01128/LBA, 25/01127/CON and 25/01124/FUL Demolition of Listed Façade at 86–90 Maxwell Street / 40 Fox Street, Glasgow to: planning.representations@glasgow.gov.uk

My objection letter is below which you can use as a template:

Dear Ms Shaw,

Objection to Planning Applications 25/01128/LBA, 25/01127/CON and 25/01124/FUL Demolition of Listed Façade at 86–90 Maxwell Street / 40 Fox Street, Glasgow

I write to object in the strongest possible terms to the planning applications referenced above, which propose the demolition of the Category B listed façade of the former McCorquodale’s Printers building at 86–90 Maxwell Street / 40 Fox Street, Glasgow.

This building, listed as Buildings at Risk Register ID 904778, remains an important part of Glasgow’s architectural and industrial heritage. Its distinctive sandstone frontage is integral to the character of Maxwell Street and the wider city centre conservation area.

The applicant’s justification for complete demolition—that the stonework is degraded beyond reasonable repair—is neither credible nor consistent with best practice in conservation-led redevelopment. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Policy 7 clearly sets out that:

“Development proposals for the demolition of listed buildings will not be supported unless it has been demonstrated that there are exceptional circumstances and that all reasonable efforts have been made to retain, reuse and/or adapt the listed building.”

It is significant that the applicant’s own reports accept that the stone façade is technically capable of repair. The only grounds advanced for demolition are purely financial, claiming that the estimated cost of external repairs of circa £277,000 (excluding internal repairs, contingencies or fees) would result in a conservation deficit and render retention “unviable”.

This claim must be treated with caution. Firstly, £300,000 for specialist stone repairs is not disproportionate in the context of the likely total development value of a substantial city centre site. Secondly, the applicant has not demonstrated that any serious efforts have been made to address this conservation deficit through the range of grant funding opportunities available, such as support from the Glasgow City Heritage Trust (GCHT), which can fund up to £100,000 for eligible conservation works.

Nor has any credible alternative approach been explored—for example, the well-established method of careful façade dismantling, off-site repair and reassembly on site. This was well demonstrated as a part of the Candleriggs Square development on Trongate, where the listed warehouse façade (LB32787) was carefully dismantled, its stone elements catalogued and assessed, with repair and replacement carried out offsite, before being fully reconstructed as part of the new scheme. This method, overseen by conservation-accredited engineers, is detailed in the enclosed Methodology and Assessment for Reconstruction of Façade report prepared by Narro Associates.

By failing to properly explore grant funding options and proven engineering methods, the applicant cannot credibly argue that all reasonable efforts to retain the building have been made. This failure to exhaust reasonable alternatives means the proposal does not meet the stringent policy tests for listed building demolition under NPF4 Policy 7, and it also breaches Glasgow City Development Plan Policy 9, which seeks to protect and enhance the city’s historic environment.

Demolishing this distinctive façade would result in the permanent loss of important architectural character and would erode the identity of the area. Glasgow must not allow neglect to be used as an excuse for avoidable demolition when there are proven and deliverable methods to secure a positive conservation outcome.

I therefore urge your officers to recommend that the Planning Committee refuse these applications as presently submitted, and to require that the applicant brings forward a revised scheme which retains the listed façade through a conservation-led approach, supported by appropriate funding and techniques such as those proven at Candleriggs Square.

Glasgow must show leadership in protecting its built heritage and insist that developers do not pursue demolition by neglect when viable alternatives clearly exist.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Sweeney MSP

Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Region

(Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party)