Glasgow green lights 2030 regeneration plan
Councillors in Glasgow have approved proposals to deliver significant regeneration to the city centre by 2030.
Included in the City Centre Strategy are new retail and leisure destinations created through the wholesale overhaul of Buchanan Galleries and the St Enoch Centre.
The multi-billion pound strategy – which was approved by Glasgow City Council on Wednesday – will also see the progression of residential developments and the expansion of innovation sectors around universities.
Since 2019, Glasgow city centre has received over £200m of public sector investment with £120million already committed to ongoing projects that will span the duration of the new strategy. Plans for a revamped George Square are set to be delivered over the next two years, with a city centre greening programme planned and the transformation of key streets such as Sauchiehall Street Precinct and Argyle Street already underway in 2024.
The city has already seen £1bn worth of investments across major office, residential, hospitality and public realm developments – including at Candleriggs Square, the Barclays campus in Tradeston, the Love Loan development at George Street, JPMorgan Chase at Argyle Street, and the new Moda residential complex at the former Strathclyde Police headquarters on Pitt Street.
Councillor Angus Millar, convener for city centre recovery at Glasgow City Council, said: “Over the decades, Glasgow has shown itself to be a master at reinvention and the latest stage of that reinvention is now well and truly underway. We know that investors have had confidence in Glasgow and this is being borne out with what we’re seeing coming on-stream. In the next few years Glaswegians can expect to see a lot more activity going on in the city centre. Some of this regeneration work may cause disruption, but this is about securing the city centre’s future as the beating heart of Glasgow for years to come.”
The new strategy will be overseen by the City Centre Taskforce, co-chaired by Angus Millar and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick, and with input from the public and private sectors.
Millar added: “No-one is under any illusion as to the scale of our challenges, but the pieces of the city centre jigsaw are now falling into place, and people in the city will really start to see that. And the consultation responses show that the public are behind us: from bigger-picture aims such as doubling the city centre population, giving new purpose to the Clyde and delivering on our net zero ambitions through to routine issues of cleanliness. We’re working together to build a city centre for the future while making sure the city centre of now is the best it can be.”