The owners of the O2 ABC have hit back at Glasgow School of Art in a row over plans to redevelop the Sauchiehall Street site, saying it is “standing in the way of progress” and claiming they ignored a warning ahead of the second fire at the Mackintosh building.
Planners at Glasgow City Council are recommending Vita Group’s bid to replace the music venue with a public foodhall and student flats is approved today — but Historic Environment Scotland and the art school are among 130 objectors.
They have claimed the project would have a “significant adverse impact” on views from the fire-damaged Mackintosh building — a position that has been supported by the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.
Now James Patterson, director of property investment firm Urban Pulse, speaking on behalf of the ABC owners OBARCS, has said the art school is attempting to “block a viable, respectful redevelopment plan”.
He stated: “In 2016, we warned the Glasgow School of Art that another fire would be catastrophic for the entire block, that warning was ignored — and the result was total devastation of the entire city block including the much-loved ABC.
“Now, the very organisation whose building caused that destruction is standing in the way of progress.”
The owners point out there are no concrete plans or a timeline for the refurbishment of the Mackintosh building. Patterson described it as a “burnt shell held together scaffolding and steel”.
He said the O2 ABC plan would “bring safety, life and architectural integrity back to this part of Glasgow”, adding: “We are not just rebuilding, we are protecting the future.“
Patterson continued: “Their refusal to engage constructively with us since the fire is a dereliction of basic neighbourly duty, the Glasgow School of Art can’t have it both ways, they’ve contributed nothing but delay, while the community around them has paid the price. It’s time to move forward.”
A spokesman for the school of art said any concerns should have been raised with Glasgow City Council, when planning permission and building warrants were sought for the initial Mackintosh restoration, as well as with the contractor, Keir Construction (Scotland), which was responsible for the building at the time of the 2018 fire.
The art school “tried to work with Vita to find a solution”, the spokesman said, and to suggest it had refused to engage constructively was “factually incorrect and disingenuous”.
He said school of art has been “clear on our commitment to the rebuilding of the Mackintosh building” and the planners’ recommendation to approve the proposal for the ABC site puts that “at significant risk”, adding: “The former Jumping Jaks/ABC site proposals fundamentally compromise the Mackintosh building’s heritage significance as a purpose-design art school and with it, the building’s future use as a working art school with the economic, social, cultural and wider regeneration benefits this will bring to the city.”