Shop where Glasgow Central fire began had takeaway plans rejected

It has emerged that the council rejected plans for a hot food takeaway at the site in December 2025, due to concerns about exhaust and poor air quality. 

Afton Estates Ltd, an Edinburgh-based real estate firm, submitted the planning application in September 2024.

Michael and Kenna Tasker are listed as directors of the firm, which was incorporated in 2001. 

The retail unit, which comprises part of the building’s ground floor and basement, stood empty for years, last hosting a Money Shop in 2014.

The Money Shop was at the site for several years in the early 2010s. (Image: Google Maps)

Photos obtained via Google Maps show that the empty unit was covered in graffiti and posters for much of the last decade. 

It is understood that a vape shop opened at the location several months ago. 

Photos of the unit, which does not appear to have had an official name, show a shopfront stocked with vapes and other paraphernalia, as well as Labubus and other items.

Records show that 105 Union Street was last sold in 2008 for a price of £540,000.

Documents from Companies House show that the unit was included in Afton Estates’ portfolio that year, when a charge was placed on the property. 

A second charge was placed on 105 Union Street in December 2012, after the 2008 charge had been satisfied.

The unit was listed for rent by DM Hall in December 2021, with the firm inviting offers of £40,000 per annum. 

Darren Glennie of A10 Architects Ltd, made the September 2024 planning application on behalf of Afton Estates Ltd.

The fire destroyed the iconic Union Corner building adjacent to Central Station. (Image: Newsquest)

We phoned A10 Architects on Monday morning. 

Asked about the planning application, an employee of the firm said: “It’s been a long time since we’ve had anything to do with it, because the planning permission was rejected. I don’t know if it is tenanted.”

More than a year after the application was submitted, documents show that the plans were rejected by the council in December 2025.

Explaining their grounds for rejecting the application, planning officers wrote: “It has been concluded that the implementation of a low level exhaust could contribute to a detrimental change in the quality of the street for pedestrians."

“The introduction of new external fittings is generally expected to the rear of the property where possible, particularly on a listed building within the conservation area.

“The previous use of this unit as a Wimpy restaurant was able to exhaust to the rear unlike this proposal.”

The council’s report added: “The application site sits in an area of the City Centre with high accessibility and is well serviced by transport options. The commercial use does not sit below residential uses and does not have an impact on residential amenity as a result.  

“However it does occupy a prominent low level position within a busy city centre street close to an entrance to Central Station. The air quality for pedestrians at street level could therefore be significantly affected by an inadequate odour disposal system.

“The proposed ventilation for cooking fumes fixed to the frontage of the commercial unit … is larger than the existing fixture and it has been established that there is a route to the rear that could be used if not for issues of ownership.”

It is understood that 105 Union Street’s owners were granted planning permission to open a William Hill betting shop in 2016, but it appears that this was never implemented, with Google Street View images showing the empty unit throughout this period. 

DM Hall and Afton Estates Ltd have been approached for comment.