The owner of a former City Sawmills office building — who wants to build flats on the site — has lost an appeal against its listed status.

Historic Environment Scotland decided to list 124 Craighall Road as a ‘category C’ building, following a request from Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney.

But Jonathan Weiss appealed against the ruling as he believes there is “no historic, design or age significance”. Weiss Development Co Ltd has applied to demolish the building and build 60 flats.

Lorna McCallum, a reporter appointed by the Scottish Ministers, dismissed the appeal as she was “satisfied” the building “meets one or more of the criteria of special architectural or historic interest”.

The appeal described Historic Environment Scotland’s decision as “shocking” and claimed there were “critical historic factual errors” as the City Sawmills headquarters were at 127 Craighall Road, not 124.

It argued 124 Craighall Road had “undergone significant changes to what it was in 1893 when it was first built”, and there is “no historic, design or age significance to be found”.

“To allow such a building to hold the title of ‘listed’ would undermine the credibility of HES and would jeopardise the importance of truly historic buildings in Scotland,” the appeal added.

The City Sawmills, at Port Dundas, was founded by James Brownlee in 1848 and became the largest firm of timber merchants in Scotland. The former office building was designed in 1893 and was later taken over by a jeweller.  The reporter said the “determining issue” was “whether the building is of special architectural or historic interest”.

She said there have “some alterations and subdivisions” to the interior but the “original floor plan and form of the building remain legible”, and they “do not detract from the overall architectural interest”.

The reporter was also “satisfied that the listing correctly relates to the building at 124 Craighall Road” and “content that the reasons for designation are not predicated upon it being the headquarters of the company”.

She concluded: “Drawing all matters together, I find that the exterior of the building retains much of its original design and character. While the interior has been altered, overall, it retains features of architectural and historic interest “The building contributes to the understanding of the social, economic and cultural history of the nearby Forth and Clyde Canal and the surrounding area.”