This week, the Glasgow Times reported on the St Enoch Centre director stating there would be no demolition and the owners were committed to growing the retail and leisure facilities at the centre.
Mr Botha said St Enoch, under new owners Praxis, would be a feature in the city centre economy for years to come.
Niall Murphy, director of Glasgow City Heritage Trust, however, said while it was good news the centre is reporting improved trading there are longstanding problems that require attention.
Responding to the article on social media, he stated: “I see that the new director of the St Enoch Centre – which was bought by property investors Praxis for £50m in May 2025 – is saying that ‘There won’t be any demolition at the centre. We will remain part of the landscape’.”
The St Enoch Centre sits between Argyle Street and Howard Street with the River Clyde a little further to the south.
With Buchanan Galleries also turning away from a previous plan to demolish the large shopping centre and create new streets, Mr Murphy said it leaves problems.
He added: “So, as with the recent decision not to demolish and redevelop Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow will not be getting a new mixed use urban quarter in place of the St Enoch Centre anytime soon.”
“Instead, the city will have to continue to work around the problems which come with these large footprint internalised shopping centres.”
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Mr Murphy said the problems include a “260m section of dead frontage” on Howard Street.
He added: “Sadly, this does not make for a street in which people want to hang out.
“As no one wants to go there, it results in urban blight such as the Building at Risk at 90 Maxwell Street.”
He said it was because “St Enoch Centre effectively acts as a barrier between Argyle Street and the Clyde”.
Mr Murphy said: “So, while it’s good that trade has picked up and the embodied carbon of the St Enoch Centre is now going to be retained, I hope the new owners will look at how to address both the Howard Street elevation and the surface level car park off Stockwell Street.”
He said the centre could be an even greater asset to the city centre especially towards the River Clyde.
He added: “The St Enoch Centre had 13 million visitors this year. Imagine how much Howard Street and Clyde Street would benefit from some of those people heading down there too.”
