Posted on 03/14/2026 6:21:47 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A spate of fires and disasters has befallen the city's historic architecture over the years, raising questions about whether these are freak accidents or a symptom of wider issues.
"Each time these collapses or fires happen, the same conversations happen and everyone agrees it's terrible and we should do something about it," says Matt Loader, co-founder of architecture firm Loader Monteith. "Then 18 months later it happens again somewhere.
"Our Victorian city is disappearing, a piece at a time."
Demolition of the remains of the Union Street building began on Friday.
Niall Murphy, director of Glasgow City Heritage Trust, told BBC Radio 4's PM programme, "there is definitely a perception that Glasgow has more than its fair share of fires."
"They're very high profile fires in main streets," he added, "and that has an impact on the psyche on the city."
Glasgow has the highest number of at risk buildings in Scotland.
This is due to "upper floor vacancies, which is tied to economic cycles, to shifts in business and to A-grade office space being available elsewhere".
The local authority stresses it has invested about £280m in heritage projects across the city in the past dozen years or so.
A spokesperson said: "It should be understood that the owners of buildings, including heritage buildings, are responsible for their maintenance and protection."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Glasgow has been the open sewer for the imported turd world turds excreted by the government. My cousin had to move to get away from the stinky violent turds who were sexually harassing and bullying their little daughter in the elementary school. And that was a private school. If you ride the public transportation there you would think you were in Khartoum or Karachi. The Muslims and African turds despise white Christian’s and their countries and have no problem destroying it to make it as violent and crappy as the dumps they left. And the UK government is all too happy to bow down and submit while the imports burn the cities.
(Cousins moved to the country north near the highlands. But the Scottish government said the country side is “too white” and is now actively taking over properties to spread the feces people across the highlands and all the small villages away from the cities and on the islands.)
Muzzies love to destroy the culture of any country they inhabit.
Mosques will be built in their place.
Clearing space for a mega-mosque?
Repay kind with kind. Fight fire with fire. Have you seen those internet maps of all the church burning in France? It is intentional. It is your future too.
That depends upon where you are in Scotland. In our experience, Scottish Highlanders hate the English as much as the Irish hate them.
Its the BBC, so don’t expect an honest answer
Do these buildings have automatic fire sprinkler systems?
If not, why? Perhaps low interest loans, breaks on insurance costs, tax incentives, etc., could put out the trend.
The line about “unoccupied upper floors” does suggest squatters and/or insurance fraud as the root of the problem.
Yeah, they make their dislike of the English pretty obvious. We were visiting the UK overall starting from London and they were so grateful we took the time to drive up there and not just stay in the south. The tour guides wouldn’t stop targeting the English in the tour groups in Edinburgh and making jokes about them.
The tour guides wouldn’t stop targeting the English in the tour groups in Edinburgh and making jokes about them.
Yep, that’s what I remember about Edinburgh. Skip Glasgow and just go to Edinburgh and do the Highlands tour.
Never been to England, but absolutely loved Scotland — perhaps a bit more than Ireland. Two nights in Edinburgh, six nights touring the Highlands, and then back to Edinburgh for two nights. Like the west coast of Ireland, the Scottish Highlands are pretty awesome.
I think they need a new fire inspector. Apple TV had a series called “Smoke” air last year. It was about an arson investigator who was the one setting the fires he was supposed to be investigating.
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