York Street: Glasgow families fear their homes will be destroyed by building work on former What Every Woman Wants site

However, for the residents of 74 York Street, they have become the scene of a year-long battle.

Families living in the city centre property have become embroiled in a lengthy dispute with developers on the neighbouring lot following months of damage to their homes.

Windows have cracked, ceilings have fallen through, and brickwork has begun to drop onto the street below the B Listed property, built in 1901.

Residents blame the destruction on work being carried out on the corner of Argyle Street to transform the former site of What Every Women Wants into offices.

However, this is disputed by both Dem-Master and Multiplex, who say any damage to 74 York Street, converted to flats in 2003, is as a result of the building’s age.

George Christie, who lives on top floor with his wife Angela, said: “We started to notice damage on our balcony and it has been getting worse over the last few months.

“You can see the brickwork has begun to peel away from the building at 70 York Street. It burst the other week.

“The pillar between the building seems to have snapped and this is only after they started to drill into the foundations.

George Christie next to damage outside his flat

“The damage is growing by the day and we also have our worries about the falling brickwork onto the street. Who is liable for that if someone gets hurt? Is it us?

“Where might it lead to? Will we be asked to leave our homes? We choose to live here and we shouldn’t be made to leave.”

The development on the corner of Argyle Street was finally given the go-ahead by Glasgow City Council chiefs in October 2019, following years of toing and froing between locals and developers.

Mostly unused and decaying since the collapse of the former department store, founded by Gerald Weisfeld in 1971, the Argyle Street building was torn down last year to make way for the development, which is set to be used as an office space by JP Morgan, according to documents submitted to planning chiefs.

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The proposals were much disputed, with objections coming from locals in York Street and the likes of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS).

David Belch, who lives on the third floor of the flats, was among those to disapprove of the plans and he said: “The thing that strikes us the most is that we have all lived here collectively for however many years and there have been no issues.

“The place has been fine for more than 119 years, then suddenly they start building and all these things start to happen. They come around and basically shrug their shoulders, blaming the condition of the building.

“It boggles the mind that they are trying to shirk their responsibility for this kind of thing and it is so obvious just from the shaking and vibration that they are to blame.

“Everyone is angry they are taking no responsibility for it and bewildered they think the work they are doing wouldn’t cause any damage.”

Stephen Bain, who lives on the first floor, added: “When they started to drill into the ground, it has only gotten worse. It started with small cracks over the last few weeks and these are progressively getting wider.

“Brickwork is falling off the front of the building. That’s dangerous.

“People have complained and the developers have basically just shrugged their shoulders and said ‘it’s nothing to do with us’.

“The council basically said it is to do with us and the company and they refused to sort anything out.”

Iain Wotherspoon, AHSS Strathclyde chair and cases panel secretary, said: “It is the council’s responsibility to look after the city’s listed buildings and it is worrying to hear this is not the case. It just shows how flimsy planning laws are.”

A spokesman for Multiplex said: “Following our appointment by Osborne + Co as main contractor for the works at the Argyle street Project, Multiplex started work on the June 15, 2020, by which time demolition had been completed and ground preparation work had been underway until construction sites were forced to close in March.

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“We have since become aware of the concerns of residents of the neighbouring building at 74 York Street, which our on-site project team has sought to address. Multiplex, along with its design consultants, are monitoring the impact of our ongoing construction works, in addition our project team has liaised with representatives from Glasgow City Council Building Control Department.

“We have installed vibration monitoring equipment to record physical readings and ensure the impact of construction work on the neighbouring community and property is not beyond acceptable levels and remains minimal.

“We will continue to closely monitor noise and vibration of our construction work and similarly continue our ongoing dialogue with the residents of 74 York Street, their property factor and engineering representatives.”

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “Following discussions yesterday between the owners’ structural engineer and staff from the council’s Building Standards team, the owners installed bracing around a window on York Street. 

"Our Building Standards team will continue to work with the factors and engineers to reach a solution that satisfies all parties.”

The Glasgow Times contacted Dem-Master for comment.