Glasgow School of Art says restoring Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s fire-damaged 1909 building exactly as it was would cost about £265m, making a full reconstruction currently unaffordable. The announcement raises fears that one of Scotland’s most important architectural works could instead be left as a stabilised shell, reduced to facade retention or allowed to deteriorate in a curated form.

The building was devastated by fires in 2014 and 2018, following an earlier restoration effort, and has remained covered and unusable for years. Architectural bodies and Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney are urging Scottish and UK government leadership, arguing that a nationally significant landmark needs public backing or a new funding partnership; insurers are understood to have funded the immediate stabilisation work.