Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council responded to my tweet about the petition, setting out the steps required to object to the planning process. Once the application is on the Glasgow City Council website we can actually go on and object. 

The purpose of the petition was to draw the attention of everyone to the situation and show the strength of feeling in favour of keeping the building, so if it has done that, then it has succeeded already. How many politicians would take the time to give such a detailed explanation, never mind the leader of the Council! 

Here is what she said: 

"Lots of people understandably exercised about this so I’m going to do something that sounds very dull & tweet a planning process thread. Stick with me though, because that’s the route you have to go through if you want to influence the outcome of this 
 
There are no “plans” yet to demolish the ABC. The owners (not the Council) have indicated that they want to do so but they need to submit a valid application, which they haven’t done yet. Even then, it’s still just an application not a plan & there’s a lengthy process ahead 
 
Once a valid application to demolish has been received & processed, it will go on the Council’s website & there will be a period of time when anyone can make a formal objection. All the information you need to do that is here https://glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=16170 … 
 
It’s very important to understand that the Planning Committee is non-political & quasi-judicial. Legally, members can only make decisions on valid planning grounds. They have to abide by strict rules around lobbying etc & can’t express an advance opinion on an application.
 
That’s why petitions on planning issues are largely ineffective. It’s formal objections that carry weight. Lobby cllrs who aren’t on the Planning committee to put in objections, but it’s best to leave Committee members to get on with it, tbh. They already know how the public feels
 
Formal planning objections in sufficient numbers can & do make a difference at Committee. The City Development Plan is the main basis for assessing planning decisions so cite it in your objection https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=35882&p=0 
 
The current City Plan has a specific policy, CDP9, on the historic environment. It would be a valid planning ground to object that the demolition of a historic listed facade is in direct contradiction with the aims & intentions of CDP9. Bonne chance!"
 
As I write we are fast closing in on 10,000 signatures, so thank you to each and every one of you. Let's keep pushing!