Designating Kingston Bridge, Glasgow

From 26 June to 17 July 2020, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on our proposal to designate the Kingston Bridge, which forms part of the M8 motorway in Glasgow, as a category B listed building.

The launch of the consultation coincided with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the bridge, which was opened as part of Glasgow’s inner-city ring road on 26 June 1970.

The Kingston Bridge is a dramatic piece of structural engineering that was nominated for listing by Transport Scotland and found to meet our criteria for designation. Forming a key part of Scotland’s first motorway, it transformed both the physical and social fabric of Glasgow and is an important example of major urban planning of the post-war period.

Whilst the bridge has had social and environmental implications, particularly on the neighbouring areas, it is of special architectural and historical interest as it is among one of the most significant and high-profile bridge projects completed in Scotland during the 1960s and 70s.

The only criteria for listing a building is whether it is of special architectural or historic interest. Factors such as proposed future use are not taken into account.

Download our assessment on the reasons for listing on the Historic Environment Portal.

We had a substantial response, with 69 written comments received from a range of interested people and groups, both locally and nationally. There were also many comments on social media platforms and a high-level of coverage in the press.

The vast majority of those who responded were not in favour of the listing. The level of detail about the issues and concerns has given us a greater depth and understanding of the context of the Kingston Bridge and how it is viewed by people in Glasgow and beyond.

It was especially important to hear your thoughts about the special architectural and historic interest of the bridge and we took this into account in our decision making.

We carefully considered the responses and we have had further discussion with Glasgow City Council and Transport Scotland. While we did not find that any comments put into question the special architectural or historic interest of the bridge, we have made changes as a result of the comments received and clarified what listing means.

We have:

• Reconsidered the category of listing and listed the bridge at category C, not category B to reflect the comments about the special architectural or historic interest of the bridge.
   
• Amended our assessment and the listed building record to capture wider views about the bridge and its impact on the surrounding communities when it was constructed.
   
• Increased our communications around listing, what being designated as a listed building means and the increasing importance of places constructed after the Second World War.

We have now listed the Kingston Bridge at category C and the listed building record can be accessed on our Historic Environment Portal http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB52554.

Find out more about why we list modern buildings.

More Information

Our historic environment is always changing. Listing does not prevent change and it will not affect any potential proposal to change the name of the bridge. What listing does is allow for a structure’s special character to be taken into account when changes are proposed.

Listing does not mean that the bridge should stay as it is forever, or even that it must always remain a motorway - many bridges can be repurposed for different uses, such as the High Line in New York and the Seoul Skygarden.

You can find out more about listing in our booklet, Scotland’s Listed Buildings.

The Advice and Support section of our website provides further information on the listing process and about what listing is. Our website also has more detail about the Listed Building Consent (LBC)  processes, as well as information on how to apply.