January 21 2022

Glasgow City Council has gone back to the drawing board on proposals to om comprehensively redevelop the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre by opening negotiations with head tenant Landsec to create a mixed-use quarter.

As head landlord, the council is driving initial concepts for a decade-long build through to 2033 which would deliver a net-zero mixed retail, office, leisure and residential quarter in the heart of the city, part of a broader shift away from mono-use zones such as the IFSD.

Reflecting the changed reality of post-pandemic retail the plans favour a combination of uses made possible by capping over the north cutting to Queen Street Station in whole or in part to establish additional development land or a significant public space - subject to ongoing discussions with Network Rail. This is a marked shift from the plans as first envisaged in 2013, which heavily emphasised retail with an additional 500,000sq/ft of floorspace that would have doubled the footprint of the mall.

If delivered this could open up the potential for new active travel routes to be routed from the station to other transport hubs as part of efforts to break up the monolithic mass of the current mall.

Early ideas include reconfiguring the area around the Concert Hall steps to improve access between Buchanan Street and Buchanan Bus Station and Glasgow Caledonian University. The council emphasise however that any changes would reflect continued usage of the space as a place of rest, protest and gathering.

Councillor Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "A 21st-century city centre delivering on Glasgow’s international standing and ambitions means more mixed-use developments, a greater residential population, more public spaces, sustainable transport options and more people-focused streets.”

The business case for the project has still to be made with the council considering the use of Tax Incremental Finance (TIF), a mechanism for permitting borrowing against higher rates drawn from subsequent development, to fund enabling works to make the project a reality. 

5 Comments

#1 Posted by Graeme McCormick on 21 Jan 2022 at 16:13 PM

why use TIF for these projects when they could be funded without borrowing through AGFRR?

#2 Posted by Billy on 22 Jan 2022 at 06:56 AM

What happens to the stores once demolished? My fear is they either relocate out of town or don't return . NEXT have just closed Argyle st to concentrate in the Galleries.. maybe some of the stores could move to the vacant spots like Bhs and soon M&S. Some big out of town retailers should be encouraged to have city centre representation. Not everyone has cars. The Range and Dunealm are two I can think of ...the old Lewis in Argyle st would give them ample floor space. They could fill at least part of the building. Or it could be ideal for a hotel.

#3 Posted by Gordon Brown on 22 Jan 2022 at 08:13 AM

Few tears will be shed here. But consideration of the embedded carbon footprint must be at the forefront of any redevelopment thinking. And content needs to trump style....beware of the build to rent mob already rubbing their greedy paws! (https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19865243.half-glasgow-renters-unable-afford/)

Urban design is social design. Public space in private development is rarely really public. Never was so much care needed in a city centre redevelopment. Good luck!

#4 Posted by Falconhoof on 25 Jan 2022 at 16:13 PM

There's already 2 huge empty units opposite the galleries some relocation could take place there & the old virgin & Topshop/Burton's units for starters,I'm just praying a small part of parliamentary rd remerges on the city map.

#5 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 26 Jan 2022 at 15:48 PM

TIF -- spawn of the devil.

Use up all of the potential increase in council tax to get the changes made and leave nothing for the schools and services that the attendant population increase will need.

Cue another round of service cuts to add to the Holyrood inspired austerity of the last 15 years -- not good.

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