Glasgow City Council Faces Police Investigation Over Derelict Tenement Collapse

A derelict Glasgow tenement has finally collapsed after lying abandoned for five years, prompting a Glasgow architect to report the city council to the police, alleging inaction. The Category B listed building in Pollokshields, which had been vacant since a fire in 2020, was on the verge of being taken over by a local housing association before the catastrophic event. The council confirmed that it had not issued a dangerous buildings notice, despite an architect's calls to do so, and is now facing a police investigation into its handling of the matter.

Key Takeaways:

• The Glasgow city council has been reported to the police by an architect who alleges that the council failed to maintain a derelict tenement in a conservation area.
• The Category B listed building on Kenmure Street and Albert Drive in Pollokshields had been vacant since a fire in April 2020, despite being in a conservation area.
• The architect claims that they had pushed for the council to administer a dangerous buildings notice, which would have provided protections for the building.
• Glasgow city council confirmed that it had not issued the notice, which it claims would have required ownership of the tenement to be resolved first, a process that was under way when the building collapsed.
• Owners of the flats did not have buildings insurance and could not afford to pay for repairs, prompting the council to appeal to a local housing association to take on ownership.
• Paul Sweeney, a Labour MSP, has emphasized the urgent need for new legislation to protect Victorian and Edwardian tenements.
• The council has stated that fencing to protect the public had been in place "for some time" and that no one passing by would have been at risk when the stonework fell.

Statistics:

• 5 years: duration of the building's abandonment since a fire in April 2020.
• 2: number of buildings to have collapsed in the Albert Cross area.
• 0: number of people who were at risk according to the council's statement, despite the collapse of the front wall.
• 1: the time a temporary roof would have provided protection to the building, according to the architect.

Sources:

• Catriona Stewart writes, source not provided.
• "The council has a statutory duty to maintain buildings in the city for residents in perpetuity and they have failed in this regard," the architect said. The architect's name is not provided in the article.
• Paul Sweeney, Labour MSP.
• Glasgow city council.