Landmark gas works saved as they get B-listed status
LANDMARK gas structures that have stood on Glasgow’s skyline for more than 100 years have been saved after officials ruled they should be protected.
The iconic Provan Gas Works near the city’s East End were given listed status by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
The towering structures were classed as category B-listings that legally protect them from unauthorised changes.
HES labelled the site near the M8 motorway one of ‘architectural significance’ and awarded it special status in December.
The site is owned by Scotland Gas Networks (SGN) and they appealed to the Scottish Government saying the works did not merit protection as they are not unique in Scotland and would cost too much to maintain.
They said health and safety laws meant they had a duty to dismantle structures, that could pose a danger to the public.
But a government reporter has ruled the protection should stay in place.
The Provan structures are among the largest of their kind in the country and were constructed in 1903. They were used to display huge placards for the ‘Glasgow’s Miles Better’ campaign in the 80s.
The identical gasholders were built by Barrowfield Iron Works Limited and R McAlpine and Sons for the Glasgow Corporation. The devices are no longer used for gas storage.
SGN had complained about the listing, saying: “Once they have stopped, as the gasholders have now, the structures have no understanding or expression.
“In particular, spiral guided gasholders only had one use, that for which they were originally constructed, conflating structure and machinery like a diaphragm.
“The only manifestation of their purpose, in this case, is the above ground tank. That, in itself, has no architectural interest.”
In a report HES said the Provan structures were ‘a rare survival of their building type’. They added: “Provan Gasworks is a highly significant industrial site for the production of gas in Scotland and the surviving historic buildings are an important reminder of an industrial process that is now largely redundant.”
Government reporter Steve Field said: “In my opinion the gasholders are of special architectural and historic interest.”