School of Art rebuild delayed due to insurance row

Plans to rebuild the fire-damaged Glasgow School of Art have been further delayed by a dispute with insurers.

The school has confirmed that they are in the process of arbitration with insurers over their claim for the most recent fire - 10 years since the first fire which destroyed the library in the art nouveau building.

The GSA said it has chosen to enter arbitration proceedings as it has still to ascertain policy cover following what it termed "a very complex insurance claim".

The world-renowned building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was severely damaged when a blaze broke out on 15 June 2018.

That fire came as the building neared the end of a £35m restoration project following a previous fire in May 2014.

A report in 2022 failed to find a cause for the fire.

The arbitration process is subject to a confidentiality provision meaning the GSA is unable to disclose any further details.

Professor Penny Macbeth, director of the GSA, said: they were making "strategic, evidenced-based decisions" to help ensure the building is rebuilt.

GSA said that work to date, totalling about £18m since the second blaze, has been funded by interim payments from the insurers.

The GSA also announced it will issue a tender in the coming months for architects, cost consultants and economic impact experts for the reinstatement of the building.

It is anticipated the appointments will be confirmed by July and an updated strategic outline business case (SOBC) will be published early next year.