Glasgow: 'Fight is on' to protect heritage amid quest to save buildings from demolition

Decorated with carved lion heads, cherub faces and hanging fruit, the once opulent office for a carting company emerged at the height of Glasgow’s industrial powers, just a short walk from the Clyde.

Today, it stands vacant and weather worn, a fragile trace of the city’s past. In a sooty fourth-storey window hangs a sign for a private investigator, but he too has long gone.

Soon, this five-storey building in Robertson Street will be completely overshadowed as the city continues to evolve and redefine itself beyond its Victorian core. Its new neighbour will be American banking giant JP Morgan & Chase, who will employ up to 3,000 staff over 13 floors in a prime site in the city’s International Financial Services District.