Councillors in Glasgow have rejected controversial plans – recommended by officers – for a student accommodation block next to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Category A-listed Glasgow School of Art, with reasons including that it ‘could harm a future bid for World Heritage Site (WHS) status for the GSA.’
At a meeting on 4 April, Glasgow City Council’s planning committee voted 12 to 6 against the proposals, citing concerns about the scale and massing and the effect on the neighbouring 1909 Mack. The council had received more than 50 letters of objection to the plans from local residents, politicians and heritage groups, as well as from Janette Ferguson, MP for Glasgow Central. Objectors claimed that the 185-bed building on Sauchiehall Street, funded by developer Urban Pulse, could harm a future bid for World Heritage Site status for the GSA.
Although the planning officers had recommended approval for the project – which had already been revised to reflect comments from Historic Environment Scotland and other statutory consultees – the committee was unconvinced.
A spokesperson for the GSA added: ’We are pleased that Glasgow City Council has today re-enforced the importance of the Mackintosh Building to the city as the jewel in the crown of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s legacy and as a world-leading art school, both of which are fundamental to Glasgow’s international renown.’
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