Bad weather delays Mackintosh building stabilisation work

Work to stabilise the west gable of Glasgow School of Art’s fire-damaged Mackintosh building has fallen behind schedule due to recent bad weather.

Art school chiefs had hoped the work would be completed by this Sunday, but they have now said weather conditions have delayed the completion date until next Sunday, October 21.

It means workers at businesses inside the safety cordon put in place following the fire on June 15 will not be able to finally get into their workplaces as they had hoped after this weekend.

The premises affected – the Centre for Contemporary Arts and local businesses Bagel Mania, News 4U and Paint & Mortar – have been informed of the delay.

Glasgow School of Art (GSA) said contractors have been working “flat out” to stabilise the building, but in the last week two days were lost because the cranes cannot be operated in high winds. More bad weather is expected over the next few days.

Professor Tom Inns, director of GSA, said: “Our teams have been continuing to work flat out to complete the work on the west gable of the Mackintosh building, but the bad weather means unfortunately this cannot be done by October 14.

“We want to keep the delay to a minimum, but safety has to be the priority. The cranes have been working and will continue to work whenever there is a window in the weather, but they cannot be operated safely in high winds.

“Weather permitting, we now hope to have the work finished by October 21.

“We have been in touch with affected businesses and we are very sorry for the delay and the obvious, continued impact this will have on them.”

The fire in June came as reconstruction following an earlier blaze in the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building in 2014 neared completion.

Art school chiefs have pledged the building will be rebuilt.