Demolition of fire-ravaged building at Glasgow Central begins

Demolition work has begun at a fire-ravaged building in Glasgow city centre.

The historic Union Corner, at the junction of Union Street and Gordon Street, was destroyed in the inferno on Sunday night after flames took hold in a vape shop.

Glasgow City Council said that the remains of the B-listed Victorian building next to Central Station were "fatally compromised" and "highly dangerous".

Among the first remnants of the building to be dismantled is a 'floating' chimney stack still attached to the adjoining block, several storeys above ground.

Council leader Susan Aitken told the Herald that a compulsory purchase order (CPO) might be a useful option for Union Corner.

But the council said there were no plans to build a hotel on the site, despite some newspaper reports.

A "safe zone" has been set up around the building, extending to Central Station.

The council took control of the site from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) on Thursday and carried out its own assessment of the damaged structure.

Raymond Barlow, from the council's building standards team, said it was not possible to say how long the demolition will take.

He said: "You are talking a good number of weeks before we see any change to aspects around here.

"We need to start work at one end of the site, take off the highest bits of danger and hopefully that will let us start to access parts of the station and get the station back up before coming to the facade."

The council said crews would work around the clock, but timescales were weather-dependent as cranes cannot be used in high winds.

It is understood that the tenants of the vape shop where the fire started were being pursued by a debt recovery service for unpaid business rates.

At the time of the blaze, Junaid Retail Limited had been the registered tenant since August 2024, and had not paid non-domestic rates at any point during this period.

Also known as business rates, this is a tax on non-residential properties like shops and factories which helps fund council services.

BBC Scotland News understands that Junaid Retail Limited were being pursued for these arrears by a debt recovery service, partnered with Glasgow City Council.

The registered address for the business during this period was in Hamilton, but in recent days this has changed to an address in Glasgow.

It is understood that the landlord of the property, Afton Estates Limited, had confirmed Junaid Retail Limited was still the occupier after a business rates bill for 2025/26 was returned to the council with a claim the occupiers had "gone away".

BBC News has attempted to contact the current director, listed on Companies House, who has not yet responded.

First Minister John Swinney said the Scottish government had held discussions with Glasgow City Council over supporting local businesses, and details of financial support would be announced soon.

He said ministers were also looking at potential tighter regulation of vape shops.

Carina McCreery ran a nail bar in the building and told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that the community had "rallied round" the affected businesses.

She told the programme: "People have been sending flowers and cards, kind messages - even my postman gave me a fiver yesterday towards my GoFundMe that my friend set up for me.

"It was really, really sweet. Brands have reached out offering to send new pieces of kit replacing the stuff that we've lost."

She added: "I only opened in November and I put quite a few thousand pounds towards kitting it out. It's been a really big hit, in terms of what's been lost."

Scott McAnally, who owned a tattoo parlour in the building, said he had lost about £40,000 worth of equipment in the blaze.

He was asked if he would set up shop above a vape shop again after the fire.

McAnally replied: "I think the unfortunate thing about the high street in Glasgow, and probably most cities, is that I don't think you have a choice if you want to open your shop above a vape shop.

"You just shut your eyes and throw a stone and you'll hit one."

What will happen to the Union Corner site?

The fire is out but Union Corner remains a huge challenge for the council, writes BBC Scotland News correspondent David Henderson.

The privately-owned site needs to be made safe - that's why the council has taken it under its control.

Only then can the roads around the site be reopened, along with the main Gordon Street entrance of Central Station.

That would make it far easier to get the 70,000 rail passengers in and out of the station each day.

But Union Corner is in a built-up city centre, surrounded by valuable buildings.

So demolition work can't just mean taking a swing with a wrecking ball. Instead, contractors have started as they mean to go on - by hand.

Soon they'll have to turn their attention to the creaky sandstone facade on Gordon Street, but it's three stories high.

And I'm told the curve on the structure makes it especially hard to handle. If it twisted as it fell, it might damage Central Station.

Only once it's safe, and the site is cleared of hundreds of tonnes of rubble, another tough decision has to be made.

Should the council use a compulsory purchase order to buy the site from its numerous owners?

It's thought that doing so could make re-development easier, quicker and cheaper.

No-one wants a small-scale owner blocking this prime site's renovation for months or years.

But is the council the right body to manage a big commercial property development? And what should be built there?

Council leader Susan Aitken said a five star hotel is an appealing option for the site.

But that's only one of many options being considered.