Vape Shop Beside Mackintosh Tearooms Sparks Fire Safety Fight in Glasgow
The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society has called on Glasgow City Council and the Scottish government to prevent a vape and mobile phone repair shop opening next to the Mackintosh Tearooms in Glasgow city centre. The Guardian
The appeal came from the Society's director, Matthew Williams, after a new shopfront advertising the business appeared beside the Tearooms. The Tearooms is the last surviving tearoom designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Built in 1903, it is category A-listed, the highest level of historic protection in Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland describes 217 Sauchiehall Street as an outstanding example of an artistic Glasgow Tea Room that was entirely conceived by Mackintosh and Macdonald. Historic Environment Scotland
The premises sit inside the Sauchiehall Street culture and heritage district, a 10-year regeneration plan for the area. Glasgow City Council said the unit has long had permission to operate as a shop. That history gives officials limited control over the specific trade proposed. Scotland has no separate licensing framework for vape shops.
The concern follows a recent loss. The B-listed Union Corner building, protected at a lower grade than category A but still listed, was destroyed by a blaze that began in a vape shop. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the cause. A later audit of other vape shops found fire safety issues, including lack of awareness about legislation and fire safety duties. The Guardian
The Union Street fire broke out at about 15:45 on Sunday. A passer-by tried to tackle the blaze before it grew. It later engulfed the entire building. BBC
After the Union Corner fire, Glasgow City Council urged the Scottish government to strengthen regulation. Paul Sweeney, a Labour MSP for Glasgow, called for a ban on vape shops being allowed to operate in historic buildings. The concern, shared by heritage managers and elected officials, is that existing fire safety and planning controls do not address the storage and charging of lithium-ion batteries, the rechargeable cells used in vapes and phones, and large volumes of e-liquids in older fabric.
Sauchiehall Street carries recent fire losses. The Mackintosh-designed Glasgow School of Art building was badly damaged by a second blaze in 2018. The C-listed ABC music venue, listed at the lowest of the three grades, burned down in the 2018 art school fire.
The broader context here is a collision between heritage protection, town-centre economics, and a gap in the rules. Scotland grades listed buildings A, B and C, with A the most significant. Fire does not follow those grades. Once ignition happens in an adjoining unit, flames and smoke can travel through shared voids, timber and services, like water finding cracks between connected rooms. A culture and heritage district can coordinate investment and design guidance over a decade, yet it cannot substitute for licensing or use-class control over high-risk retail.
In my view, Glasgow will test whether Scotland tightens vape retail regulation or keeps relying on audits after loss. The Society wants preventive action beside a historic interior that cannot be remade. The council points to the limits of its powers. The government holds the legislative lever. For a street still marked by the art school fires, the next decision will show how protection of historic fabric is balanced against pressure to fill vacant units.
