Ministers consider reinstating public inquiry into Mack as doubts grow

After the GSA confirmed last week that it had chosen to enter into arbitration proceedings with its insurers, it appears that newly reappointed Culture Secretary Angus Robertson is currently considering the next steps.

Since June 2018, GSA has been working on a complex insurance claim, supported by a team of external legal and insurance professionals. Following the publication of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s fire investigation report in January 2022, insurers requested additional information which the GSA provided to enable them to confirm policy cover. In the absence of this confirmation, the Glasgow School of Art indicated that it had chosen to initiate arbitration.

Ministers have now confirmed they are considering calling for an inquiry into issues relating to the rebuild.

A Scottish Government source said The herald: “The Scottish Government has welcomed plans by the Glasgow School of Art to faithfully restore the Mackintosh Building.

“The Mackintosh Building is owned by the Glasgow School of Art, which is an autonomous body responsible for its own strategic and operational decision-making.”

But the source added: “Particular attention is being given to the call for a public inquiry, and the Culture Secretary will inform the Committee on the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture of any developments in this domain. »

The GSA has confirmed that the cost of the works to date is approximately £18 million and has been funded by interim payments from insurers.

The School has also reiterated its commitment to a faithful and exemplary restoration of the Mackintosh Building as it prepares to launch a new tender for the appointment of architects, cost consultants and design experts. economic impact in order to update its strategic business case (SOBC).

The June 2018 fire destroyed the building as it neared the end of a multi-million pound restoration project following an earlier fire in May 2014.

While a design team was supposed to have been in place by August 2022, this has still not happened, and the hope of gaining council planning approval for the project is not expected before spring 2026 at the earliest, according to estimates based on GSA’s own estimates. provisional timetable.

GSA is said to hope to have a design team in place by July to identify the “appropriate pathway to delivery”.

The restoration project will not be completed before the original deadline of 2030 and is not expected to be completed within the next decade.

However, doubts remain about its restoration.

Professor Alan Dunlop, a renowned architect and consulted stakeholder for the project, said the latest twist shows the board was “incompetently handling” the rebuild and feared the project would never see the light of day.

“They won’t be able to rebuild without insurance,” he said. “You’re talking about costs of over £100m and there are so many issues with the costs of the whole thing.”

He believes the Scottish Government should intervene now, adding: “We are not talking now about when this will be finished, but whether it will happen and whether the board should resign. »

John McAslan, of John McAslan and Partners, called on wealthy Scottish philanthropists to step up, just as philanthropy played a key role in the rebuilding of Notre-Dame de Paris.

He said: “No blame should be placed on the GSA for the sorry state of the Art School, because as I understand it, an unresolved insurance claim is the cause of the delay. However, as uncertainties continue, costs continue to rise for its genuine reconstruction and must surely be much higher than the £100 million figure mooted a few years ago.

“Impetus must therefore be given to the reconstruction of Mackintosh’s world-renowned masterpiece, commensurate with the extraordinary zeal of Notre-Dame de Paris, which is about to be completed just five years after the devastating fire.

“Additionally, like Notre Dame, I believe that philanthropic funding must be part of the mix, with an externally constituted board of directors established to lead the rebuild on behalf of the GSA. »