WORK to dismantle the Mackintosh Building is "progressing to plan" to allow residents and business owners affected by the safety cordon to return to their properties, Glasgow School of Art (GSA) has said.

Businesses and 33 homes within the cordon zone remain evacuated following the blaze which tore through the famous building on the night of June 15.

Locals have been left frustrated that they cannot access their property to retrieve possessions and staged a protest at the weekend.

Glasgow City Council said parts of the building are at risk of "sudden, unannounced, collapse" and warned that anyone who tries to breach the cordon faces arrest.

GSA said work to dismantle dangerous parts of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building is progressing to plan, with structural engineers in contact with the council so they can "assess when it might be possible to reduce the size of the security cordon".

Professor Tom Inns, GSA director, said: "The fire in the Mackintosh Building has had a devastating effect on the Garnethill community and especially the people whose homes and businesses are within the security cordon.

"We want to assure people that our first priority is dismantling the dangerous elements of the building in the safest way both for the workers and for surrounding properties.

"Our focus has been on the parts of the building which most directly affect our neighbours – the east gable and south facade – to ensure people can return to their homes and businesses as soon as possible.

"Over the last two weeks the work has been going to plan, and we are still on schedule to complete the stabilisation of the building within the eight-week timetable.

"Throughout the programme of works our expert structural engineers are keeping in contact with Glasgow Council Building Standards updating them on the work so that they can assess when it might be possible to reduce the size of the security cordon."

GSA said most of the material removed during the last week was too badly damaged to retain with a limited amount found to be in good enough condition to be removed off site for storage.

Work over the next week includes further reductions to the height of the south facade with the dismantling of the south west corner block, above Sauchiehall Street, dependent on work being undertaken to make the O2 ABC building safe.