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A public meeting has now been called over the controversy by GMAC, one of the arts organisations in Trongate 103, which was hailed as a landmark in Glasgow’s cultural development when it opened in 2009.
City Property Glasgow, which is owned by the city council, has been under fire since claims emerged that tenants had been served with “a
four-week notice, non-negotiable eviction order” by the company unless they agreed to dramatically increased rents.
Those affected include GMAC Film, Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, Glasgow Print Studio, Street Level Photoworks, Project Ability, Project Room and Transmission Gallery.
City Property Glasgow previously stated that lease renewals were a “standard process for all tenants, given that existing leases expire and the market rent of properties change over time”.
However, after a week of bad publicity, the company issued a new statement to “provide the public with a clear picture of the situation” and insisted it was “not evicting any tenants” from the building.
“Following recent reports, City Property Glasgow (Investments) LLP (CPGI) can advise that it is
not evicting any tenants,” the statement said, adding that officers from Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council had been “closely involved” in discussions with tenants “for
some time”.
“Our shared aim has been to ensure the building is financially sustainable while maintaining its role as a cultural hub and supporting the council’s wider commitments to culture, community wealth building, and inclusive economic growth,” the statement said.
It added that an independent assessment “with input from tenants and Creative Scotland” concluded that while market rents of £10 to £12 per square foot could be achieved, an initial rate of £4 per square foot would be “fair and appropriate”.
“Additionally, the council undertook major repairs and has agreed to write off historic arrears linked to stepped rents and service charges that had accumulated after earlier caps were removed,” the statement said.
“The formal notices which have been issued are a routine step as part of this engagement to bring existing leases to an end so that the new agreements can be offered, which is standard practice across the
property sector.”
The company said it would continue to “engage” with tenants but stated the new leases would take effect from April 1, with rent set at £4 per square foot as well as service charges.
“Officers will consider opportunities identified by the tenants to reduce service-related costs,” the statement added. “The council will also consider further capital investment.
“It is City Property’s intention to support organisations to remain in the building wherever possible and to ensure that Trongate 103 continues to provide a high-quality, affordable space for creative, cultural and community organisations.”
However, GMAC chair Mark Langdon said the statement was both “disingenuous and misleading”.
“If they are not evicting people, why have they issued a notice to quit which says we need to be out of the premises before March 27 – they also know everyone has said £4 per square foot represents an impossible increase,” he said. “They have been trying to strong-arm us into signing lease agreements we can’t afford.”
He added that a public meeting would be held on March 18 at GMAC because of the ongoing threat to the organisation, which has a 45-year history and has nurtured the careers of thousands of people.
“The issues are far from resolved,” said Langdon. “This is our opportunity to perhaps finally make City Property and the city council listen to what we have been telling them for years.”
GMAC, which supports independent filmmakers, was one of the new tenants at Trongate 103 and understood its lease would run for 25 years.
“Then last year we were told we owed £130,000 in service charges, but we got a letter in January saying the city council had agreed to pay off these spurious debts, but it would be contingent on us signing the new lease,” said Langdon. “Then they hit us with this notice to quit.
“It’s a betrayal of the 25-year lease and it has been an utterly draining process being in negotiation with them. The absurdity of it makes it very difficult to challenge and it is a huge worry for all our staff and partners.”
Langdon said the GMAC and its staff of 12 had been even busier since the closure of the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), but the uncertainty was putting all the work at risk.
“It’s really damaging for us,” he said. “GMAC has been a fundamental element of the creative structure not just of Glasgow but of Scotland, and we need support.”
More than 2500 people have now signed a petition calling on Glasgow City Council and City Property to reconsider, revoke the rent increases and allow Trongate 103 to continue to thrive.
Lauren Coleman who launched the petition, accused City Property of “attempting to shift the building from the originally agreed subsidised cultural model to a fully commercial footing”.
The controversy has rekindled fears about the future of the city’s
cultural scene.
Filmmaker Vince Hunter, a lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire, called it a PR disaster for Glasgow City Council.
“It is just one more catastrophic mistake from a city council that really does not seem to know what it is doing – that’s what it feels like
from the ground level as an observer,” he said.
“They just seem to be making panicky decisions to try and get the money in. Trying to charge four times the current rent is crazy and only going to shoot this city in
the foot.
“We have lost the CCA, it looks like we have lost the art school and if we lose the Trongate, what’s next?
“They are going to ruin the city at this rate, as there is going to be nothing left to bring people here and that is going to affect us economically and socially. We will pay for these decisions in the long term. We need bigger thinkers who are thinking ahead and not short-term.”
