JAMES MORGAN j.morgan@theherald.co.uk A HISTORIC garage which had been threatened with demolition has been upgraded to A-list status - providing a lifeline to campaigners who are aiming to save it.

The Botanic Gardens Garage, in Glasgow's west end, had been earmarked for a modern four-storey building incorporating flats, cottages, retail space, and a restaurant.

However, following pressure from residents, Historic Scotland has upgraded its listed status from Category B to Category A, recognising the building's international architectural significance. Owner Sir Arnold Clark may now have to rethink plans to demolish part or all of the building, which some heritage experts believe may be the oldest multistorey car park in the world.

The motoring tycoon had already withdrawn his initial application, after it provoked 150 complaints from residents.

But his son, John Clark, told The Herald they were considering resubmitting their plan, pending the result of Historic Scotland's review. Now, given the new A-listing, they may have to go back to the drawing board.

Historic Scotland's description states that the building is: "An exceptionally early and rare surviving example of a public motor garage likely to be the earliest surviving example in Scotland.

"Public garages of this era, which comprise more than one storey are also very rare and this may be the only one of its type in Scotland. Purpose-built public parking garages, which predate the 1920s, are extremely rare nationally and internationally."

Dr Sam Maddra, a Glasgow University historian and leading campaigner for the garage's preservation, said: "This confirms what we've been arguing all along, that this is a unique historic building of special importance, and that every effort should be made to find a sympathetic use for the building that doesn't involve demolishing it.

"There's nothing else like it anywhere else in Scotland, and research so far has failed to find any other comparable buildings anywhere else in the UK or abroad. It's a fantastic piece of motoring and social history, and the west end of Glasgow would be much poorer were it to be allowed to be demolished."

Built by David V Wyllie on Vinicombe Street, off Byres Road, between 1906 and 1912, the garage has a distinctive facade of green and white terracotta tiles and is considered an important survivor from the earliest days of automobile history.