UPDATE – 13 July

Exclusion zone – timescales

We understand that all displaced residents and businesses are anxious to know when they
will be able to return to their property.
The council is keen that work progresses quickly and safely so the local community can
recover some sense of normality as soon as possible.
However, we are also aware that the duration of your displacement could be critical in terms
of the conversations you are having with utilities and insurers.

As you know, The Glasgow School of Art’s contractors fully began work to dismantle
sections of the Mackintosh building on Tuesday.

GSoA has said that it expects this first phase of work, which includes taking down dangerous
sections of the building to around first-floor level, to take eight weeks.
We don’t know what the condition of the buildings within the exclusion zone will be once that
work is complete – or what works will then be required.
For example, the damage to the O2 ABC can only be fully established once works have
sufficiently progressed on the Mackintosh building.
As such, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to reduce the size of the exclusion zone
after eight weeks.
We can advise, however, that we expect displacement to continue for an absolute minimum
of eight weeks – or 12 weeks in total since the date of the fire.
Exclusion zone – minor reduction
While we expect the cordon to remain mostly unchanged during the current works, we have
made a commitment to residents and businesses that we will seek to reduce the footprint of
the exclusion zone whenever it is safe to do so.
With that in mind, we have, this afternoon, been able to bring in the cordon at Douglas Street
by a couple of metres – restoring access to businesses at Rothsay House.
In effect, the way works are being handled on site has very slightly changed the footprint that
would be vulnerable in the event of a sudden collapse; allowing us to make this change.
While this is only a very minor reduction in the exclusion zone, officers continue to monitor
the site and assess the safety of the surrounding streets and property. Whenever it is safe to
reduce the cordon, we will.
On-site support
We are very grateful to the Dental Hospital for their generosity with access to facilities during
the initial response to the fire at GSoA and Sauchiehall Street.
As of next Tuesday [17 July] we will continue to offer support to the business community
affected by both recent fires from Clockwise, Level 2, 77 Renfrew St, Glasgow G2 3BZ.
The appointed Business Liaison Office remains in post as usual. Please note there will no
presence on Monday, July 16.
It has been a number of days since anyone visiting the Dental Hospital has sought
assistance from the Social Work staff. However, the service will still be available by calling
0141 287 0416.
Business support – jobs available
A number of businesses have raised concerns regarding their staff, some of whom are now
looking for alternative employment.
Optical Express has approached the council about a range of roles it has available in
Glasgow, both in retail units and in their Contact Centre.
They are aware of the difficult situation that businesses find themselves in following the GSA
fire and are keen to notify businesses and staff whose employment status has been affected
of these opportunities.
Scot Duffy is happy to receive speculative CVs. He is also happy to speak with businesses
to see if a group meeting/visit would be worthwhile and can be reached at
Scot@OECareers.co.uk

New traffic arrangements

PICTURE: Copyright Ordnance Survey

 You can download a detailed map of road closures and traffic arrangements here.
[1Mb]

New traffic arrangements for the Sauchiehall St and Garnethill area remain in place.

The arrangements mean restricted access to local and service vehicles is now provided to
Renfrew Street and Sauchiehall Street up to the east and west sides of the cordon at
Dalhousie Street and Scott Street respectively

Both Scott Street and Dalhousie Street are fully closed from just south of Sauchiehall Street
until the unnamed lane that runs between the Reid Building at Glasgow School of Art
building and St Aloysius College. Local access to Holland Street, Pitt Street, Douglas Street,
Rose Street and Sauchiehall Lane is now in place.
The one way street on Buccleuch Street has been reversed, which will enable traffic to move
around Garnethill again and exit the area on to West Graham Street. Residents in the
Garnethill area can access parking places that were previously blocked off by the wider
cordon.

The diversion for motorists travelling east on Sauchiehall Street remains in place. This takes
drivers via Elmbank Street, St Vincent St, Pitt Street and West George Street before turning
north into Hope Street.

Vehicles travelling west on Bath Street can enter Blythswood Street to travel northbound.

Parking

Some residents may have been displaced from where they usually park. To help, your
resident permit will be valid in Glasgow City Centre, Park, Woodlands and Woodside.

Contacting us

Over the last few weeks, many of you will have picked up a variety of phone numbers and
email addresses for various people and teams across the council.

That’s normal, in the circumstances, but does pose some problems. For example, individual
officers may be on leave when you try and contact them – and there is also a risk that we
may not always have a full picture of your circumstances.

To try and make your contact with us as simple, consistent and helpful as possible, we have
established a dedicated email address incidentrecovery@glasgow.gov.uk for all enquiries.

We will also continue to use the dedicated phone line 0141 287 0416.