Planning Application - Arnold Clark, Vinicombe Street

[savebotanicgardensgarage]

You can read the article 'Sir Arnold Clark puts brake on garage flat plans,' in The Herald (05/10/07) by using the following link:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1737383.0.0.php

[Mori]

I visulise it as a car museum...with public donating their classics and rotating with spaces over periods of time with others & or teams of clasic car enthusiasts bringing in a wreck and renewing it for public showing while a classic car is being revamped.

Classic car shows...is it big enough for such shows... whats the Sq meterage of the Garage?

Great pics Nodrog, i never realised how classic looking that building is its really well worth saving.

[Pgcc93]

That would be a great idea a working garage with classic motors on show all at the same time.

[bearkit]

More coverage in today's Evening Times:

Protesters claim under threat garage is unique

Despite the AC talk of horses and carts, the original plans specifically call it a garage. There are archive photos of cars in individual lock-up spaces (have a look in Along Great Western Road if you've got a copy).

If you're interested, do please come along to the meeting on Thursday night. John Clark from Arnold Clark should hopefully be there to put their side of the argument.
A familiar face will also be speaking about listed building planning consent requirements.

Oh, and here's a few new pics from inside the place...

Nodrog

Great pics Nodrog. Creepy. I used to work in AC Vinnie Street and it looks as though nothing's changed other than the lads' toolboxes have been moved out of the place. It was / is a bit of a rabbit warren and decrepit in places, but was a good buzz to work in. The fry ups in the canteen on a Saturday morning after a night on the rip were excellent! With a good clean up, it would make a great working museum as has been mentioned but something along those lines probably wouldn't happen as the land it's sitting on is worth a lot. Happy times - thanks for the memories.

[gap74]

Yay, officially now listed at category A as of Dec 19th!

http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=32935

(although Historic Scotland's listing site has crashed, as it seems to do every weekend, so maybe best to wait till New Year to check it out!)

Pat on the back for all involved in researching and putting forward the case for the importance of this little building!

[Fossil]

Cool
Nice Work!

[nodrog]

(although Historic Scotland's listing site has crashed, as it seems to do every weekend, so maybe best to wait till New Year to check it out!)

I suspect someone turns the server off when they go home on a Friday afternoon!

Here are a couple of choice excerpts to whet the appetite until they turn it on again...

An exceptionally early and rare surviving example of a public motor garage, [...] likely to be the earliest surviving example in Scotland. [...] Purpose-built public parking garages which predate the 1920s are extremely rare both nationally and internationally.

[Doorstop]

Absolutely brilliant news.

It would have been a crying shame to lose this great piece of nostalgic architecture to the corporate monster.

Great work.

[savebotanicgardensgarage]

The campaign group organised to save the Botanic Gardens Garage in Hillhead, Glasgow are delighted that Historic Scotland has upgraded its listed status from Category B to Category A, which thereby recognises the historic garage’s national and even international architectural significance.

The new listing description further states that the building is:
“An exceptionally early and rare surviving example of a public motor garage, … likely to be the earliest surviving example in Scotland. Public garages of this era, which comprise more than one storey are also very rare and this may be the only one of its type in Scotland…. Purpose-built public parking garages, which predate the 1920s, are extremely rare both nationally and internationally…. As one of the first of its type this building was innovative and the use of the distinctive decorative faience is of particular special interest.”

The campaign to Save the Botanic Gardens Garage was organised in the summer of 2007 in response to an application by the owners, Arnold Clark, to demolish the garage and replace it with a new 4-storey structure incorporating flats, cottages, retail space, and a restaurant. The campaign received enthusiastic support from both local residents and national bodies concerned with historic buildings, with over 150 letters of objection to the proposed demolition being sent to Glasgow City Council’s Planning Department.

Arnold Clark eventually withdrew their application to demolish the historic garage, but they have intimated that they will be submitting a new application in the near future, most likely involving demolition behind a retained façade.

However, given the new A-listed international importance of the building, the Save the Botanic Gardens Garage group feel that it would be premature to be thinking about just façade retention. We argue that there is much more to the building that is of interest than just the façade, including the utilisation of historically significant engineering techniques and materials, the overall architectural design, and the building’s social and architectural historic context, all of which appear to be confirmed by Historic Scotland’s decision to place it in the A Category listing.

Glasgow City Council has recently performed their own survey of the building, which confirmed the campaign group’s original arguments that the building is structurally sound.

While the change in listing category does not automatically prevent demolition, it does recognise the importance of the building, and national policy requires that every effort be made to make a viable alternative use of a listed building before it could be demolished. In particular, the campaign group would like to see Arnold Clark offer the garage for sale to a restoring purchaser who might recognise the building’s importance and significance, as required by national policy.

Save the Botanic Gardens Garage spokesperson Sam Maddra said: “I’m delighted by the decision to upgrade the Garage to Category A. This confirms what we’ve been arguing all along, that this is a unique historic building of special importance, and that every effort should be made to find a sympathetic use for the building that doesn’t involve demolishing it. There’s nothing else like it anywhere else in Scotland, and research so far has failed to find any other comparable buildings anywhere else in the UK or abroad. It’s a fantastic piece of motoring and social history, and the west end of Glasgow would be much poorer were it to be allowed to be demolished.”

The complete listing description can be viewed on Historic Scotland’s website at:
http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/portal.hsstart?P_HBNUM=32935

For further information on the building and the campaign to save it see the website:
http://www.botanicgardensgarage.org

Contact: [email protected]

Historic Scotland defines Category A as : Buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic, or fine little-altered examples of some particular period, style or building type.
Category B are buildings of regional or more than local importance, or major examples of some particular period, style or building type which may have been altered.

[mrsam]

For any of you reading the below topic

http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/forums/vie ... 4&p=142230

you will know my feelings on building preservation

so....

Ye Haaaa

Break out the champaign


Sam

P.S. as a foot note, any word on longterm useage plans (HG office and museum for Fosses Greek Thomson treasures perhaps?)

[nodrog]

as a foot note, any word on longterm useage plans (HG office and museum for Fosses Greek Thomson treasures perhaps?)

There are lots of interesting options for long term usage plans (and several people interested in buying it) - the real problem is that the owners, Arnold Clark, have so far not been prepared to offer the building for sale to let any of them happen...

PS: Coverage it Today's Herald:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/other/display.var.1927666.0.Historic_garage_threatened_with_demolition_is_given_lifeline_with_upgrade_to_Alist_status.php

[mrsam]

as a foot note, any word on longterm useage plans (HG office and museum for Fosses Greek Thomson treasures perhaps?)

There are lots of interesting options for long term usage plans (and several people interested in buying it) - the real problem is that the owners, Arnold Clark, have so far not been prepared to offer the building for sale to let any of them happen...

PS: Coverage it Today's Herald:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/other/display.var.1927666.0.Historic_garage_threatened_with_demolition_is_given_lifeline_with_upgrade_to_Alist_status.php

Just send Doorstop round to soften em up a bit

Either that or wait for the usual (but I hope not!!!) fire and subsequent demolition process thing that glasgow does soooo well

[Minted Stereo]

Great news. I love this building.

[Mori]

Battlelines drawn in city garage war

The future of a historic garage in the vicinity of Glasgow's Botanic Gardens is shaping up to be the latest cause celebre in the city's west end.

Two meetings staged by those on opposing sides of the issue are scheduled for next week to discuss the plans by owner Sir Arnold Clark to redevelop the A-listed garage, which some heritage experts believe to be the oldest multi-storey car park in the world.

After that, a planning application to transform the site will be submitted to Glasgow City Council, with a deluge of objections also expected.

advertisement
So far those against the scheme have enlisted the support of legendary 1980s indie band The Pastels but hope to secure other celebrities, including Robbie Coltrane, if a campaign escalates.

Sir Arnold had initially planned to demolish the structure, known as the Botanic Gardens Garage, and replace it with a four- storey building of 35 flats, four mews cottages, retail space and a restaurant.

His firm pulled the plug on the plans after mounting opposition in the area, including the formation of the Save the Botanic Gardens Garage campaign and their alliance with those who successfully protested against a nightclub in the Botanic Gardens.

Last December, Historic Scotland upgraded the garage's status from B-list to A-list, putting it on a similar level of importance in Scotland's architectural and social history as Edinburgh Castle or Kelvingrove Museum after successful lobbying by the campaigners.

Sir Arnold's people have now developed another scheme which they are keeping under wraps. The campaigners fear the building's future is still far from secure, claiming it remains on the Scottish Civic Trust's buildings "at risk" register.

Sir Arnold's representatives will be holding the "public consultation" on their revised plans next Wednesday in their office in Vinicombe Street. The following evening, the Save the Botanic Gardens Garage is to stage its own meeting to devise its latest strategy in light of the plans.

[Mori]

ET

Awww dont do that ! totaly defeats the whole pupose of the building.

Arnold Clark bosses will shortly submit a new planning application which is understood to involve knocking down the back of the A-listed Botanic Gardens Garage in Glasgow.

The firm wants to use specially-commissioned tiles to "rebuild" the building's frontage but won't give details of the proposals until they are submitted to Glasgow City Council.