A group of unions have urged Creative Scotland’s board to “stop the sale” of a building that housed a now-closed arts charity amid concerns about its creative and cultural future.
The Scottish Trades Union Congress has urged the grantmaker to suspend the sale of 350 Sauchihall Street in Glasgow, a venue that was previously home to the Centre for Contemporary Arts.
The letter, which was delivered to the grantmaker this week, was signed by the STUC’s creative industries trade unions group, which includes: the Scottish Artists Union; Equity; the Musicians’ Union; Bectu; the Scottish Society of Playwrights; the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain; and the Society of Authors UK.
The CCA was a registered charity and a multi-arts venue and hub for exhibitions, film, music, literature and performance. But it closed abruptly earlier this year, entering liquidation and making more than 30 redundancies.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator opened an inquiry into the charity after its sudden closure, but this month the regulator told Third Sector it had ended its engagement.
Following the CCA’s closure, Creative Scotland – which owns the venue – called for expressions of interest from organisations seeking lease or ownership of the building.
The grantmaker said it particularly welcomed expressions of interest from organisations “with an intention of operating the building as a cultural venue”.
The move was criticised by a campaign group called Save Our CCA, which accused Creative Scotland of paying “lip service” to the Scottish government’s original promise that any new operator would recognise the cultural significance of the venue.
The campaign group also alleged the venue was put up for sale/rent without consulting artists or residents of Glasgow.
The recent letter from the STUC expressed “deep concern” about the sale, saying there had been an “absence of any public scrutiny” regarding the decision.
“Creative Scotland has made choices that may permanently alter the ownership and purpose of [the] 350 Sauchiehall Street venue,” the letter says.
“Yet the workers, artists, tenants and communities whose labour made it an important cultural space have had no meaningful opportunity to influence those choices.”
The letter urges the grantmaker to hold meaningful talks with workers and local communities, saying the lack of prior consultation on the building’s listing “came as a shock to former workers, artists, tenants and the wider cultural community”.
The letter said: “We now call on the board to suspend the process before any proposal is assessed and open a public consultation on the future of 350 Sauchiehall Street.
“The consultation must help determine how the building’s cultural and public value will be protected.”
The letter urges the grantmaker to formally involve former CCA workers, trade unions, artists, tenants and local cultural and community organisations in the next phase.
“This must include defining the options under consideration; agreeing the eligibility requirements, assessment criteria; identifying the evidence applicants must provide; and determining the timetable, the composition of the independent selection panel and how final decisions will be reached.”
The letter also says the next stage of the process “must begin from a commitment to keep the building in public or community ownership while securing a long-term operator”, which it says “does not require the sale of the building”.
It urges Creative Scotland to properly consider continued public ownership via a not-for-profit, worker-led or community-led operator; a secure, long-term lease; community ownership; transfer to another public body; and joint worker, community and public sector models.
Roz Foyer, STUC general secretary, said: “Throughout this process, Creative Scotland have fallen short of the demands of the sector, lacking the transparency and openness befitting of a public body that should have creative workers’ interests at its core.
“We are calling on them to stop the sale. 350 Sauchiehall Street can be a thriving, well-funded and culturally significant site for the whole of Scotland but only if workers are part of that decision-making process.”
A spokesperson for Creative Scotland said: “Creative Scotland met with STUC to receive the letter in person and the board will respond directly in due course.
“The expressions of interest for the lease or sale of 350 Sauchiehall Street (formerly the CCA) closed on 12 August 2026. These expressions of interest are now being considered, and we will issue an update on next steps, soon.”