Plans to sell off Glasgow art gallery 'speculative'

The Galley of Modern Art is one of Glasgow's most famous landmarks

Glasgow City Council has described reports a prestigious gallery building could be sold off as "speculative".

A paper raises the prospect of selling off the building which houses the Gallery of Modern Art and moving the collection.

The gallery is set within a former townhouse in Royal Exchange Square.

Hard proposals for this year's budget are still to be announced but the council said it needs to make savings in the region of £50m.

The nearby statue of the Duke of Wellington, which is usually adorned by a traffic cone, is one of the city's best known landmarks

The gallery, which opened in 1996, is close to George Square, major shopping streets and the Merchant City.

It is the seventh-most visited tourist attraction in Scotland.

The council paper suggested money could be raised by selling the building while the collection could be moved to one of the city's other galleries or museums.

Glasgow's galleries and museums - which offer free admission - are run by an arms-length trust, Glasgow Life.

Councillors are expected to set their budget for the coming year next month.

The Duke of Wellington statue is one of the city's most photographed landmarks

The council is run by an SNP-minority administration which has yet to announce its preferred options.

However, in line with normal practice, council officers produce papers outlining possible ways of saving money or raising revenue for councillors to consider.

There is no suggestion that the modern art collection would be sold.

The question raised is about where it should be housed.

A council spokesman said: "The cross party budget working group asked officers for savings options.

"All parties have received the same information and they will present their budgets at a meeting on 20 February."

The idea of relocating the Gallery of Modern Art may not come up in this year's budget but council sources are not dismissing it out of hand either.

Last year the council produced a paper looking at long-term options for rationalising its estate which looked at whether the council needed to use so many buildings.

'Museums district'

Inevitably the question of the number of buildings used to house galleries and museums has been discussed.

Some council officials are known to be considering whether a "museums district" could be created around the west end of the city.

The thinking is that the city would have a major asset by highlighting how the Kelvingrove Museum, the Transport Museum and the refurbished Kelvin Hall are in close proximity.

This could potentially mean housing the modern art collection in the Kelvin Hall.

However the Gallery of Modern Art is a very popular and high profile venue in a very central location.

The building would probably be worth tens of millions of pounds.

Any decision to relocate the modern art collection would be likely to be a long-term strategic move - rather than a response to any financial pressures in a single year.

The council would be well aware of the risk of leaving such a key strategic building unoccupied and would be unlikely to move out unless a buyer was found.