GLASGOW School of Art bosses are “unfit” to care for the “national treasure” that is the Mackintosh building after two devastating fires, Holyrood has heard.
The world-famous “Mack” building by Charles Rennie Mackintosh was first fire-damaged in 2014 before a ferocious 2018 repeat as a £35 million restoration was nearing completion saw even the steel girders and stones badly affected.
The Scottish Parliament’s Culture Committee has already criticised Glasgow School of Art (GSA) for not giving enough priority to safeguarding the listed building against fire.
As MSPs discussed that report yesterday, Tory Adam Tomkins backed calls from committee convener Joan McAlpine, of the SNP, for a public inquiry into the matter.
And in blistering criticism of the institution’s management, he called for the establishment of a public trust, stating: “The management of the Glasgow School of Art have proved themselves to be an unfit custodian of this national treasure and the public inquiry must consider whether the building and its future should be taken out of the GSA’s hands and laid in some sort of public trust.
“The GSA management have not only allowed this iconic building to burn down twice in the space of four years, but in the aftermath of the 2018 fire they treated their neighbours, in the Garnethill community, both residents and businesses up and down Sauchiehall Street, with disdain and contempt.”
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Higher education minister Richard Lochhead said GSA bosses must learn “harsh lessons” but emphasised plans to rebuild the site and return the Mack to being “a fully functioning art school”.
He added that the Scottish Government will decide if there should be a public inquiry after the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service publishes its report into the fire.
Labour’s Pauline McNeill said disruption from the second fire – which saw some evacuated from their homes – had “devastated” the community, adding: “If you ask any of the residents if they think there has been an adequate response from authorities, they’ll tell you they felt abandoned by it.
“We must learn lessons, not just about the cause of the fire, but about the conduct of authorities.”
Green co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “This is a warning to not just Glasgow School of Art, but to all institutions, all large organisations that have a role in shaping the nature of the community they live in and alongside.
“Build that trust before you end up encountering a crisis, because if you go through a crisis like the Glasgow School of Art has, it’s too late to start building that trust then.”
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