Glasgow Building Preservation Trust

Growing Heritage Development Trust

Tackling at-risk heritage in Glasgow Central Conservation Area to enhance city centre vibrancy

Glasgow Building Preservation Trust (GBPT) is a charity dedicated to restoring and repurposing historic buildings for community benefit. Since 1982, the Trust has delivered 30 major restoration projects, and supported many more which have saved significant buildings and landmarks that would otherwise have been lost, such as the Kelvingrove Bandstand (2014) and the West Boathouse (2022) on Glasgow Green. GBPT has a longstanding relationship with the AHF, and the support the Trust received from the Fund for these projects and numerous others has been crucial for their delivery.

Since 2019, GBPT has engaged more than 6,000 people through its dedicated community engagement programme. It has also organised the much-loved Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival since 1990, bringing the concept of Doors Open Days to the UK as part of Glasgow's year as European City of Culture. The festival generates 40,000 visits every September and has welcomed a total of more than 1.9m people over the past 36 years.

As a result of these success stories, the Trust is widely recognised as Glasgow's leading heritage regeneration specialists.

In December 2023, GBPT was selected to become part of the AHF’s Heritage Development Trusts (HDT) programme, which is made possible by funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. As a result, the Trust is receiving additional resources through the programme over a three-year period, which have allowed it to increase its capacity and to take on additional projects that will help to ensure its long-term sustainability. Being a HDT member has also enabled GBPT to grow its staff team by appointing a Project Development Officer to develop a pipeline of projects (Daniel Brown) and an Office Administrator to support the growing team (Maeve O’Boyle).

To date, GBPT has successfully secured two Project Viability Grants and three Project Development Grants from the AHF through the HDT programme. These grants have contributed an additional £113,000 of development funding for the Trust’s area of focus and have also served as a crucial step towards GBPT attracting additional match-funding to support this work.

Spotlight on area of focus

GBPT’s area of focus for the HDT programme is the Glasgow Central Conservation Area. Encompassing most of the city centre, it is an area rich in listed buildings, but also a place experiencing substantial challenges with changing working and shopping patterns, especially in the context of post-Covid pandemic recovery. It has also suffered the losses of some significant heritage assets in recent years due to fires and demolitions.

However, the city centre is presently undergoing significant regeneration, from the Avenues projects, which are transforming streets through increased greenery and active travel infrastructure, to the ‘Golden Z’ strategy, which aims to grow the area’s residential population. GBPT is working with the Council, private sector owners, developers, and numerous other partners to complement this regeneration work by tackling at-risk heritage and helping to enhance city centre vibrancy.

More specifically, as part of the HDT programme, GBPT is working towards securing a long-term future for two historically significant category A-listed heritage assets in the Central Conservation Area, one of which has been derelict for decades and is included on the Scottish Buildings at Risk Register. While the Trust is not at a stage to publicise details of these projects yet, the redevelopment of these city centre landmarks will have a transformative impact in helping revitalise Glasgow’s built heritage and will bring new life to its city centre.

For further information on the Trust and its projects, please visit the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust website.