Designating the Cranhill Water Tower in Glasgow

From 5 March to 26 April 2026, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on a proposal to list Cranhill Water Tower in Glasgow.

Cranhill Water Tower, located at the eastern edge of Cranhill housing estate, was built in 1951 and designed by Frank A Macdonald and Partners for Glasgow Corporation. Cranhill Water Tower is the earliest known post-war water tower to survive in Glasgow and is a major example from the unrivalled programme of reinforced concrete water tower construction in Glasgow and its environs during the 1950s and 60s.

Through Citizen Space, we invited members of the public to tell us if they agreed with the proposed designation and if they had further comments to make.

We consulted directly with Glasgow City Council as the planning authority and the owners, Scottish Water. We also consulted with the Ward 18 councillors and Cranhill Community Council.

Our selection guidance for designation and the policies we work to are published in the Designations Policy and Selection Guidance document.  

We received a total of 111 responses to the consultation, including two written responses and 109 responses via our Citizen Space survey. There were 59 detailed responses to our online survey.

Of the 109 Citizen Space responses, 89 ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘slightly agreed’ with the proposal to list and 20 ‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘slightly disagreed’ with the proposal to list.

We received one written response from the owners in which they asked us to reconsider the category of listing and to formally exclude the Neptune sculptures at the base of the water tower. We received a second written response from two Ward 18 councillors who objected to the proposed listing and noted concerns that listing the tower would prevent development of the area.

Several comments in favour of listing commended the structure an iconic structure and a landmark in the area. We received a number of comments from members of the public who stated that they lived locally to the water tower and said they felt the structure was part of the community and the historic identity of the area. Some comments noted the interest of its design and how it has fallen into disrepair over the years.

Responses against listing noted that the structure had little architectural merit and considered it was an eyesore. There was a range of comments related to the tower’s condition and economic factors related to future development. Some considered that listing would make maintenance of the tower more difficult.

We have considered the comments made to us at consultation and our view remains that Cranhill water tower meets the criteria for listing. We have, however, added a statutory exclusion to legally exclude artist Andy Scott’s Neptune Project sculptures found at the base of the tower from the listing. We have designated the water tower at category B as Cranhill Water Tower excluding the Neptune Project sculptures at base, Skerryvore Road, Glasgow. You can view the listed building record on our Portal.

We have also published a report that summarises our online consultation survey and shows the responses in full where we have the necessary permissions.

All of the relevant reports can be downloaded on our Portal and below:

• Report of Handling
• Listing Map
• Online Consultation Survey Report