YOU had the sad duty to report the news that The Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow is under threat of closure ("Time running out to save city's famous Glasgow tea rooms", The Herald, March 14).
It would be a disaster for Glasgow if this iconic Charles Rennie Mackintosh building fell out of use and was closed, particularly with the Commonwealth Games on the horizon and when we are only five years from celebrating the 150th anniversary of this Scottish icon.
The Mackintosh Society has been working closely with Anne Mulhern at The Willow Tea Rooms to find a solution to keep this building open. We have long campaigned for improvements to take place to this building, and hosted a major symposium last year to look at the condition of this and a number of the Mackintosh buildings, as many of them require investment, repair and a more certain future.
Our Mackintosh heritage has the same importance as our castles, historic houses and art collections and as such it requires appropriate levels of care and investment to protect it for future generations.
This is the start of a campaign to ensure the Tea Rooms do not close or that the building falls out of use.
As this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Mackintosh Society, it is ironic that major questions still remain over the structural integrity and long-term future of a number of Mackintosh buildings. Much positive investment has been made over the past years, with notable success, both in safeguarding and conserving the buildings and in enhancing the visitor experience, however now, as much as ever before, we need to remember that the legacy is small, vulnerable and irreplaceable.
Mackintosh is a unique asset for Glasgow and Scotland and it is imperative that all of the city and national agencies work together in ensuring that this and other Mackintosh legacy buildings have a more secure future.
Stuart Robertson, Director,
Carol Matthews, Chairwoman,
The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society,
The Mackintosh Church at Queen's Cross, Garscube Road, Glasgow.
The debate about Glasgow's historic and iconic George Square rumbles on, with the public now being told that the council have listened to their revamp concerns and are changing the design ("Plans for renewed George Square toned down", The Herald, March 16) . However in the same breath we are also told that £15 million will still be spent on the project overall. In this age of austerity, that amount of money could be better spent. The council must come up with a clear alternative at a fraction of the present cost but still producing a better space, but also so that the rest of this sum can be used where it is really needed.
John Ross,
45 Fereneze Avenue, Clarkston,
Glasgow.
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