November 8 2019

Glasgow City Council has embarked on an ambitious masterplan which seeks to set out a roadmap for the city’s evolution over the coming three decades, with people placed front and centre of the vision.

A raft of ambitious goals are laid out in consultation documents including an upgrade of High Street Station in anticipation of it forming a northern terminus for the UK high-speed rail network and the transformation of King Street car park into a significant new public space.

Other initiatives include decking over the M8 at Charing Cross and improvements to George Square with the common goal of encouraging a repopulation of the city centre by improving connections and green spaces while curtailing traffic.
At present, just 20,000 people are living in central areas but the council has aspirations to see this double over the masterplan period.
 
The draft strategic development framework states: “The city centre is on a journey of incremental transformation to become a more prosperous, healthier, greener, more inclusive and sustainable city. This transformation must accelerate and become more connected and holistic if to be sustainable in the long term.”
 
Comments are invited on the framework through to January 2020.

6 Comments

#1 Posted by Sir Ano on 8 Nov 2019 at 13:00 PM

i smell shi.....

#2 Posted by Dan on 8 Nov 2019 at 15:25 PM

Yeah its shi.... alright. Still no rail link to Airport but plenty of trees in city centre.
Looks like we have been marked as a source of affordable housing for Edinburgh job market.

#3 Posted by Billy on 8 Nov 2019 at 20:01 PM

Glasgow made a few bad decisions in years gone past . Depopulating the city centre was one. Thankfully that has changed and the city centre is no longer a ghost town after 6pm. Edinburgh’s overheated housing market can only be good for Glasgow as people realise the commute is quick and properties more affordable in Glasgow....even the city centre. Not to mention the benefits to local businesses. So glad that hideous excuse for a car park in King st has been targeted and will become a new civic square. Hopefully they will proceed with that first. It’s such an eyesore and dragging the area down.

#4 Posted by Glasgow Bob on 9 Nov 2019 at 08:15 AM

Whilst it's great that cars and their parking are pushed outwith the city centre it needs doubling of parking provision at undergrounds, investment in park-and-ride, light rail to an extent (not convinced it would work with Glasgows tight street grid). An underground link to airport sweeping into the hospital, shopping centres and main transport interchanges to justify it (single dead end route to airport was an 'ambitious' business case too far)
Only with these carrots can we then implement sticks to reduce car parking and put spaces to better public use.

#5 Posted by spikebrown on 9 Nov 2019 at 21:24 PM

Good to see the City Council iniatiating this

#6 Posted by Neil C on 11 Nov 2019 at 08:33 AM

While any improvements are welcome, and increased density would certainly be a cause for celebration, I wouldn't call this thirty-year plan "ambitious" if repurposing a car park and adding a roof to a fifty metre stretch of the M8 are key highlights.

I have been hearing about High Street station becoming a major hub for as long as I can remember (which is a long time), and I have no faith it'll ever happen, especially as GARL remains a pipe dream. Speaking of which...

Post your comments