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Vape Shop Opening Near Mackintosh Tearooms Raises Heritage Fire Safety Alarm
By Drooid · · How we work
New Vape Outlet Adjacent to a Category-A Listed Building
A vape-and-mobile-phone-repair shop opened on Sauchiehall Street beside the Mackintosh Tearooms, the last surviving tearoom designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The shop’s bright pink signage contrasts with the 1903 heritage façade. Local residents and heritage groups have voiced alarm that the proximity of a vape outlet—identified by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the origin of a recent Union Corner fire—heightens the risk of another blaze affecting the listed tearooms.
Recent Fire History and Regeneration Context
Six months after a vape shop fire destroyed the B-listed Union Corner, Glasgow still grapples with fire-related loss. In 2018, two blazes severely damaged the Mackintosh-designed Glasgow School of Art building, and the C-listed ABC music venue also burned in that incident. The Sauchiehall Street corridor is part of a ten-year regeneration plan for the city’s culture and heritage district, which also includes the Centre for Contemporary Arts that closed this year for financial reasons.
Official Statements & Responses
He urged Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government to halt the shop’s opening. Glasgow City Council noted that the premises had long held a shop licence and that Scotland lacks a specific licensing framework for vape retailers.
Opposition from Community and Artists
Street artist Ashley Rawson responded with an “unexploded vape” sculpture, questioning the heritage approach and referencing the Union Corner fire in an Instagram video.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The Mackintosh Tearooms are an architecture and design gem, an important part of Glasgow’s story and a real boost for tourism in the city,” — Matthew Williams, the director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society
- “It would be a further cultural tragedy if the Mackintosh Tearooms also went up in flames,” — Matthew Williams, the director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society
- “We could see a similar potential scenario playing out all around Glasgow – if you take a stroll through the city you’ll see umpteen of these vape emporiums and tat shops in historical buildings that are clearly vulnerable to fire,” — Paul Sweeney
- “Is this really the Sauchiehall Street heritage approach that we’re looking for? Aren’t we learning from Union Corner, from the art school? I just don’t know, it’s a bit flabbergasting.” — Ashley Rawson
