Fire-ravaged Union Corner building in Glasgow to be demolished

The remaining facade of the Union Corner building ravaged by the devastating Glasgow fire is to be demolished.

The demolition should clear the way for re-opening of the main part of the adjacent Glasgow Central Station - Scotland’s busiest - although Network Rail said that would still not happen until at least Monday.

A single fire hose continued to douse the Union Corner building debris on Thursday morning | The Scotsman

The council, which took control of the site from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on Thursday, said the work was not likely to start until at least today (Friday) , once a contractor had been appointed by the building’s owner or the council.

The local authority was unable to say how long demolition would take.

In a statement, Glasgow City Council said: “We are now in control of the Union Street site, and after a full and final assessment of the remaining structure, has decided that demolition must happen in the interests of public safety.

“Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are still on site to take care of remaining hot spots.”

Fencing being erected at Union Corner on Thursday ahead of the building's demolition | John Devlin/The Scotsman

A single fire appliance remained on the scene at the junction of Union Street and Gordon Street yesterday, where fencing has been installed ahead of the demolition work.

The threat posed by the stability of the facade has prevented Network Rail specialist engineers from gaining full access to the station to check for damage, and it is pushing the city council to let them into the building as soon as possible.

A spokesperson for the body, which owns and operates the station, said: “Engineers have had limited, controlled access and have not identified any significant structural issues.

“Damage, mainly due to water ingress, appears to have been contained to a small office on the Union Street side of the station and a small part of the glazed area directly above it.”

A section of Glasgow Central Station's glass roof above the first floor Network Rail management offices on its north eastern edge adjoining the fire site on Thursday | John Devlin/The Scotsman

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Niall Murphy, director of the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, said: “I am saddened by the news.

“The building had significant heritage value for Glasgow because it was characteristic of City Architect John Carrick’s work and was commissioned by Lord Provost Andrew Orr.

“Nevertheless, in this instance I can understand the council’s desire to clear the site.

“The problem is the adjacency of Central Station and the Union Street bus corridor and the massive disruption their closure has caused to Glasgow.

“Just now, the overarching priority for any city would be the need to get people moving and businesses reopened.”

But he added: “We must insist on a worthy and contextually sensitive replacement of high architectural calibre which responds to the superb surrounding built heritage in the heart of the Glasgow Central Conservation Area.”

Norry Wilson, curator of the Lost Glasgow Facebook page, said demolition had been “inevitable”.

He said: “The intense heat, and cooling, will have severely weakened/compromised the stonework.

“Sad as it is, for the city to return to normal - bus services in Union Street, and safe access to and from Central Station - you couldn't have left this 'shoogly tooth' teetering above Gordon Street.”

Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said: “It is disappointing that the council, which has no in-house conservation-accredited experts, have rushed to condemn this listed building to full demolition within a matter of hours of the site being handed over.

“We may be seeing elements of this iconic listed building which could be preserved being destroyed with unnecessary haste.

“I hope the council will at least laser scan the surviving elevation for a faithful reinstatement and undertake a careful hand demolition process that can preserve as much of the surviving structure as possible if a retaining scaffolding cannot be erected.”

The cordoned off junction of Union Street and Gordon Street from Renfield Street on Thursday morning | The Scotsman

However, a city council spokesperson said: “Heritage accreditation is not relevant or necessary to the assessment of a building in terms of its basic structural stability and whether it presents a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public.

“Existing structural expertise within the council can be relied upon to determine this in such cases. Fundamentally, this is a public safety decision.”

The blaze started in a vape shop and spread to the rest of the building, which housed a variety of small businesses.

A total of 300 firefighters were involved in the five-day operation, with up to 18 fire appliances on the scene.

Network Rail confirmed it was considering plans revealed by The Scotsman on Wednesday to partially restore operations by re-opening platforms on the west side of the station if necessary. The station is used by 80,000 people a day.

The low level (underground) station, beneath Argyle Street, re-opened on Tuesday.

Network Rail Scotland route director Ross Moran said: “As soon as access is granted, our focus will be on getting the station ready to welcome passengers again.

“Our teams are prepared to carry out the detailed inspections, cleaning, repairs and operational checks that may be required, depending on the findings of the local authority’s assessment.”

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Meanwhile, a cross-Government Ministerial Board has been established, as announced by First Minister John Swinney on Tuesday.

It will coordinate the Scottish Government’s “immediate and longer-term response” to the fire “that will support the ongoing critical work of partners and stakeholders”.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance will chair the board, which will “ensure that work across the Scottish Government is most effectively supporting the city’s recovery efforts and oversee the development of a support package to aid in the recovery process”.

Ms Constance said: “There are the immediate issues of making the site safe and the recovery of the transport network, with significant ongoing work to return rail and road systems back to normality as soon as possible.”

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has launched a multi-agency investigation into the causes of the fire, which the Scottish Government said was expected to take time given its scale and complexity.