Hillhead Baptist Church Demolition Approved for New Flats: Glasgow 2026

Key Points

• Demolition Approved: Glasgow City Council has officially granted planning permission and listed building consent for the total demolition of the B-listed Hillhead Baptist Church.
• Residential Replacement: The historic structure will be replaced by a six-storey residential block containing 32 flats, developed by Wemyss Properties.
• Public Backlash: The decision was met with substantial local opposition, drawing 332 formal objections from the public against just 19 letters of support.
• Split Committee Decision: The planning applications committee was tied 3-3, with the final approval determined entirely by the casting vote of the committee chair, Councillor Ken Andrew.
• Financial Viability Defended: Representatives for the developer and independent property experts testified that rising construction costs made preserving even a partial facade economically unachievable.
• Heritage Concerns Raised: Objectors, including local politicians and the Hillhead Community Council, strongly criticised the loss of the 150-year-old Greek Revival asset and questioned the architectural suitability of the proposed replacement.

Glasgow Council (Glasgow Express) June 17, 2026, to completely demolish the historic B-listed Hillhead Baptist Church on Cranworth Street to make way for a new six-storey, 32-flat residential development. The controversial decision was finalised during a tightly contested planning committee meeting where councillors split evenly at three votes apiece, leaving the final determination to the casting vote of committee chair Councillor Ken Andrew. The approval comes despite a massive wave of public resistance, which saw 332 formal letters of objection lodged against the plans compared to a mere 19 letters submitted in support of the residential project. Council planning officials had formally recommended the application for approval prior to the sitting, arguing that the long-neglected structure was in an advanced state of decay.

The fundamental justification for the demolition centered on structural and economic realities. As reported by local government records and detailed by Tim Ferguson, the planning agent from Ferguson Planning representing Wemyss Properties, every rigorous structural and financial investigation carried out on the property concluded that the building was entirely non-viable for redevelopment.

Ferguson told the planning committee that retaining the historic facade was simply not economically achievable under current market conditions. This position was heavily supported by expert testimony from Dr John Boyle, the director of research at property firm Rettie & Co.

Boyle informed the committee that viability remains the single largest issue facing the development sector today, pointing out that UK construction costs have surged by more than 40% since 2019, while average house values have only grown by 26% over the same period.

Boyle added that a comprehensive range of facade-retention options—including alternative commercial uses such as student accommodation or a hotel—had been thoroughly tested, and all were found to generate severe, unsustainable financial losses.

Opponents of the demolition fought sharply to halt the progress of the bulldozers, arguing that Glasgow’s architectural heritage was being systematically sacrificed.

Glasgow region MSP Paul Sweeney strongly backed an eleventh-hour amendment to reject the plans, telling the committee he remained completely unconvinced that at least a partial facade retention could not be successfully achieved on the Cranworth Street site.

Sweeney pointed directly to several other historic buildings across Glasgow where complex facade retentions had been successfully engineered. He openly criticised what he described as an “intransigent” attitude from Wemyss Properties regarding their failure to fully justify the absolute necessity of total demolition. Sweeney argued passionately that the 150-year-old building, originally designed by renowned architect Thomas Lennox Watson in the classical Greek Revival style, deserved to be treated with the utmost respect as a vital heritage asset.

Why Did Glasgow Councillors Divide So Sharply Over the Cranworth Street Site?

The debate inside the committee room exposed a fundamental philosophical divide between the urgent pragmatism of preventing structural hazards and the desire to conserve local heritage. Councillor Imran Alam brought forward a formal amendment aimed at saving the building’s exterior.

Alam proposed that the committee reject the current demolition plans and instead force the site to be remarketed for a minimum of six months.

The stated hope was that an alternative developer, willing to absorb the high financial burdens of retaining the historic facade, might come forward to rescue the structure.

Seconding the amendment, Councillor Saqib Ahmed stated that while he fully supported the introduction of new housing stock for the city, it must not come “at the expense of such a beautiful building.”

Councillor Thomas Rannachan also voted firmly alongside Alam and Ahmed in opposition to the total clearance of the site.

Conversely, those who voted in favour of the application argued that delay would inevitably result in a worse outcome for public safety and the surrounding community.

Councillor Mhairi Hunter, who joined Councillor Paul Leinster and Chair Ken Andrew in voting through the plans, stated that the developers had been explicitly clear that a refusal would not result in the submission of a fresh, revised application. Hunter highlighted that with the building’s roof already completely removed, further bureaucratic delays would only cause the exposed stone to deteriorate at an accelerated pace. Hunter stated to the committee:

“We can’t posit a third option where someone might come along who is willing to bear the cost of retaining the façade.”

Committee Chair Councillor Ken Andrew admitted he harboured “some concerns” regarding the visual design of the proposed replacement six-storey block.

However, Andrew ultimately concluded that the vacant building would likely continue to rot, eventually forcing an emergency demolition anyway to protect the structural integrity of neighboring residential tenements.

Andrew noted that the committee faced a strict “binary decision” between rejecting or granting the application exactly as presented, with no legal scope at that stage to push the developers for a completely revised architectural design.

What Design Criticisms and Alterations Defined the Final Residential Proposal?

The aesthetic merits of the new residential block faced fierce criticism from local preservation groups. Representatives from the Hillhead Community Council formally lodged their objections, declaring the six-storey modern design “not suitable” for a sensitive site positioned in close proximity to two prominent A-listed landmarks:

the Western Baths and the distinct Art Deco building on Vinicombe Street. The community council argued that any modern building chosen to replace a historic listed asset should possess an architectural quality capable of enhancing the conservation area, or at least stand a realistic chance of being listed itself in the future—a standard they asserted the Wemyss Properties proposal failed to meet.

In response to sustained feedback from Glasgow City Council planning officials and local stakeholders, the developers underwent a series of revisions to their blueprints after their initial submission in August 2024. Documents reveal that Wemyss Properties altered the external materials and dimensions to better integrate the block into the Hillhead Conservation Area.

Key Architectural Adjustments Made by the Developer:

• Material Swaps: The street-facing elevations were changed to authentic red sandstone, and the roof specification was altered to grey zinc to better complement the traditional slate roofs of the adjacent tenements.
• Structural Proportions: The proportions of the prominent corner bay were refined, and the window arrangements on the upper floors were adjusted for better symmetry.
• Street Interaction: The design of the main entrance was reworked, alongside internal flat layouts to maximize natural light compliance.
• Heritage Integration: New landscaping plans for the central courtyard and street frontage were introduced, which propose salvaging original architectural features—such as the church’s classical columns and original windows—to be permanently displayed as monuments within the communal gardens.

The developer submitted these changes alongside updated technical reports, including an extensive daylight and sunlight assessment, an embodied carbon and circular economy statement, and an updated stone condition report authored by conservation specialists Simpson and Brown.

Background

The decision to demolish Hillhead Baptist Church marks the final chapter in a protracted, 26-year structural and financial crisis.

The main church hall has stood completely empty and disused since 2004, when the active congregation was forced to downsize and move into an adjoining single-storey hall known as the Tryst. By 2017, the congregation had vacated the site entirely due to mounting maintenance challenges.

The structural vulnerabilities of the Greek Revival building were documented long before current redevelopment efforts began.

As early as the year 2000, a comprehensive report published by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) flagged the building’s rapidly declining condition. The HES specialists cited a combination of highly unfavourable ground conditions beneath the foundations, inherent Victorian design shortcomings, and a chronic historic lack of capital investment as the core reasons for its instability.

This critical report prompted a continuous, twelve-year search for an external development partner, spanning from 2004 to 2016.

The search yielded no success; two separate prospective partnerships were forged during this window, but both ultimately dissolved when independent surveyors determined that the structural remediation costs wiped out any potential financial viability.

Wemyss Properties officially stepped in as the designated development partner in 2017. In 2021, the firm initially secured planning permission for a compromise scheme that would have retained a significant portion of the historic facade alongside 29 new flats and integrated community facilities. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused severe project delays and supply chain shocks.

That same year, structural engineers discovered that the main roof had become an immediate public safety hazard. The developers notified Glasgow City Council that an emergency removal was mandatory, and targeted demolition work on the roof structure commenced in January 2022.

Wemyss Properties subsequently completed the outright financial purchase of the property in April 2022.

Follow-up condition surveys conducted in March 2022 and June 2023 revealed that without the roof, the exposed stone facade was deteriorating at a pace that far exceeded initial engineering forecasts.

Coupled with the post-pandemic spike in raw material costs, an independent development consultant reviewed all alternative uses for the site and concluded that no configuration of facade retention could be executed without catastrophic financial losses, prompting the developer to seek the total demolition consent granted this week.

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Prediction

The total demolition of Hillhead Baptist Church and its replacement with a 32-flat modern residential complex will directly impact several segments of the local population in the West End of Glasgow.

For immediate neighbors living in the surrounding Cranworth Street and Vinicombe Street tenements, the commencement of major demolition and construction work will bring unavoidable short-term disruption, including localized noise, traffic diversions, and construction dust.

However, the long-term structural impact is likely to be defensive. As noted by the planning committee chair, eliminating a collapsing, unroofed stone shell removes the acute risk of an uncontrolled masonry failure that could compromise the foundations or walls of adjacent shared tenement properties.

Furthermore, the introduction of high-density modern flats is expected to bolster local property values over time, though it permanently alters the traditional architectural vistas valued by local homeowners.

Impact on the Local Economy and Businesses

Local businesses situated along the nearby Byres Road and Vinicombe Street corridors will experience a dual effect. During the construction phase, trade may see a marginal increase from onsite construction workers.

More significantly, the permanent introduction of 32 new households into the immediate micro-market will provide a sustainable increase in local footfall and consumer spending.

Nearby hospitality venues, independent retail shops, and leisure facilities like the Western Baths will gain a concentrated pool of prospective local patrons, helping to stimulate the sub-regional West End economy.

Impact on Heritage Preservation and Community Identity

For the broader community represented by the Hillhead Community Council and local conservationists, the development represents a stark negative outcome for civic identity.

The loss of a 150-year-old Thomas Lennox Watson asset sets a worrisome precedent for other at-risk B-listed and C-listed structures throughout Glasgow’s conservation zones.

While the developer’s inclusion of salvaged columns in the courtyard garden attempts to mitigate this, local heritage advocates will view the final outcome as a defeat, signaling that macroeconomic pressures and rising material costs can successfully override established municipal historic preservation policies.