Glasgow City Council welcomes 'milestone' as Gordon Street reopens to the public after Union Street fire

A busy Glasgow city centre street has reopened almost 11 weeks after a devastating blaze tore through a Victorian-era building.

The blaze broke out in a vape shop near Central Station on March 8, which spread through the Union Street building.

A complex operation was launched to get Scotland’s busiest railway station back up and running, and six weeks on, the fire-hit Union Corner was demolished.

Dozens of businesses were lost, and those that remained said they faced financial “catastrophe” due to the blaze’s impact.

Now weeks on from the blaze, Gordon Street has reopened to the public ahead of schedule.

It comes after Glasgow City Council previously said the cordon covering the area would remain in place until at least early July.

The reopening, which came into force at 1pm on Thursday, means the public will no longer have to use detours, such as those along Drury Street or Renfield Lane.

‘Milestone’

Ahead of the reopening, controlled access was provided to affected food businesses on Gordon Street to allow them to remove any spoiled food and inspect and clean the premises.

The council’s refuse and environmental health teams also attended to offer support.

Councillor Angus Millar, convener for city centre recovery at Glasgow City Council, called it a “milestone” in the area’s recovery.

“It’s absolutely necessary for the vitality of the city centre that people can see that its open for business, and the reopening of these key pedestrian routes following the Union Street fire helps that,” he said.

“Given the proximity to Central Station, these are among the busiest pavements in the country and this will be welcomed by those forced to take detours to and from the station.”

A cordon remains on Union Street, and the council said it is continuing to work with affected residents and businesses as the recovery progresses in the coming weeks.

Demolition work on the damaged building is continuing, with progress being made on stabilising the western gable wall.

The council added that access to affected buildings within Central Station or Central Hotel will not be possible until all the stabilisation works have been successfully completed.

“The recovery of Union Street is a major priority for the city, and work is already under way to chart a way forward for the future of the street and the wider Central Station area,” councillor Miller added. “That’s going to be a long process, but Glaswegians will be glad to see this major milestone towards recovery.”

“I’d like to thank the affected businesses for their patience, and hope that the reopening of the pedestrian areas assists businesses in returning to normal as quickly as possible.”