A planned vape shop next door to one of Glasgow’s most important Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings has sparked calls for the opening to be stopped.
The new vape and electronics shop is preparing to open beside The Mackintosh Tearooms on Sauchiehall Street, prompting concerns from heritage campaigners following a devastating fire at a city centre vape shop earlier this year.
The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society said it was “disturbed” by the move and has called on Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government to take action.
Glasgow City Council said it has no power over who the privately-owned premises are leased to and there is no specific licensing regime governing the opening of vape shops.
The council is, however, checking that the proposed retailer has registered under the Scottish Government’s Tobacco and Nicotine Vapour Products Registration scheme.
The row comes six months after a huge fire at Union Corner beside Glasgow Central Station, which is believed to have started in an unlicensed vape shop.
The March blaze caused the partial collapse of the B-listed five-storey building and destroyed or badly damaged a number of neighbouring businesses.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society director Matthew Williams said the prospect of a vape shop opening beside the tearooms was “completely unacceptable”.
He said: “The city has already suffered the horrific fire at Central Station which is alleged to have started in an unlicensed vape shop, alongside the destruction of the masterpiece Mackintosh Building at Glasgow School of Art.
“The Mackintosh Tearooms are an architecture and design gem, an important part of Glasgow’s story, and a real boost for tourism in the city.”
The society fears the new business could create an additional fire risk beside the Category A-listed building.
Designed by Mackintosh in collaboration with his wife Margaret Macdonald for Glasgow entrepreneur Catherine Cranston, the tearooms opened in 1903.
The building is regarded as an outstanding example of Mackintosh and Macdonald’s work and underwent a major restoration before reopening in 2018. It is now cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
The society’s chair Michael Dale also urged the landlord of the neighbouring unit to reconsider the lease.
He said the opening of another vape shop would undermine attempts to regenerate Sauchiehall Street and develop its Culture and Heritage District.
Dale said: “Their commercial imperative cannot take precedence over increased risk to this national treasure.”
The controversy has also prompted a street protest by Glasgow artist Ashley Rawson.
Rawson took his giant “Unexploded Vape” artwork to Sauchiehall Street after spotting the shop being prepared beside the tearooms.
He originally created the installation following the Union Street blaze to highlight concerns about vape shops and lithium-ion battery fires.
Rawson said: “Yesterday on a trip to the emerging ‘Sauchiehall Street Heritage District’ I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that a vape and electronics shop was preparing to open next to Glasgow’s surviving jewel in the crown of Mackintosh heritage: The Mackintosh Tearooms.”
He added that he hoped his protest could help stop the shop opening and called for stronger controls over shopfronts within the Sauchiehall Street heritage area.
The row comes as Glasgow continues to grapple with the loss and damage of several important historic buildings through fire.
The Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh Building was badly damaged by fire in May 2014 before being devastated by a second blaze in June 2018. The neighbouring O2 ABC was also destroyed in that fire.
Glasgow City Council has already called for stronger regulation following the Union Street blaze.
Earlier this year councillors asked the Scottish Government and Glasgow MSPs to explore legislation covering greater regulation of vape products and the storage of lithium-ion batteries.
Responding to the latest controversy, a Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “Planning permission for these premises to be used as a shop has been in place for many years.
“The council has no bearing on who these premises can be leased to by the landlord.
“There is no licensing system in place for vape shops that allows for checks on the suitability of premises to be used to sell vapes or check on whether those selling these products are fit and proper to do so.”
The council said vape retailers are instead required to register with the Scottish Government’s Tobacco and Nicotine Vapour Products Registration scheme.
The spokesperson added: “We understand the premises in question have not yet opened to the public but we are checking to ensure registration is in place for these premises.
“Following the fire in Union St earlier this year, the city council called upon the Scottish and UK Governments to review and strengthen regulations governing the sale, storage and safety standards associated with vape products.”
The Mackintosh Tearooms at 217 Sauchiehall Street are the only surviving tearooms designed by Mackintosh still operating from their original location.
The Category A-listed building is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland, which took it into its care in 2024. It was renamed The Mackintosh Tearooms earlier this year.