Student plan saves historic Glasgow building from demolition

A proposal lodged earlier this month would have seen much of the A-listed Flemington House in Springburn knocked down under because of an increased business rate bill.Designed by architect James Miller, the property was built in 1908 as offices for the North British Locomotive Company. The building in Flemington Street later became a college and was sold for use as a business centre in 2006.Under the proposal, only the front section would be kept, with the rear portions being knocked down.A statement submitted to Glasgow City planners explained: “The rear sections have a more industrial finish and are generally in poor condition.“The property to be demolished is 20 per cent occupied despite efforts to attract new business.”Three floors of the block to be retained are approximately 60% occupied. The top floor was never converted and the owners are proposing to adapt that space and move tenants from the rear of the building into it.The property has been marketed for sale with one offer received in March, this was later withdrawn after an exemption for empty rates charges was lifted.The statement added: “The removal of empty rates concession for the unoccupied portions of the building has resulted in charges far higher than income.”“It has been demonstrated that despite a long period of operation and marketing, the space considered for demolition cannot be filled by the present commercial uses or the charges for empty rates are too high to permit ongoing sporadic renovation as has been the case in the past when demand arose.“A request on 29 April for an emergency meeting to find solutions with the planning department has had no response.”However, the listed building application has now been withdrawn after MSP Paul Sweeney contacted the owner and raised the possibility of converting rear parts of the building into student flats, while retaining the front part as social enterprise centre.Mr Sweeny stated in a video on social media platform X: “There has been a lot of concern about the proposal to demolish a large part of the A-listed former North British Locomotive Company HQ in Springburn.“After discussion with the owner, he has agreed to withdraw the demolition application and to work with me to explore alternatives.”