By Ian McConnell
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick has welcomed £1.95 million of funding for the city, to aid its recovery from the pandemic effects.
The funding from the Scottish Government’s £6m City Centre Recovery Fund, awarded to Glasgow City Council, was announced by Mr Patrick in his capacity as co-chair of the City Centre Task Force. The task force and Glasgow City Council will work together to invest in improvements.
Glasgow Chamber said: “The money will be used to bring footfall back to the city centre through measures such as discounted public transport, a deep clean of the city, an action plan for vacant units, a visitor campaign, and a framework for the city’s style mile.”
It added that the visitor campaign would “look to encourage footfall from consumers both locally and further afield to enjoy the city centre’s retail, hospitality, and leisure offerings”.
Mr Patrick said: “We all know Glasgow city centre has suffered badly from the pandemic and businesses will be keen to see footfall return. The Centre for Cities high street tracker shows Glasgow’s footfall is still well below its pre-pandemic levels, leaving the city centre in the bottom 10 for recovery out of the 60 UK towns and cities being monitored, while official data suggest city centre retail vacancies have very nearly doubled since the pandemic began but that understates the impact.”
Anne Ledgerwood, director at St Enoch Centre and deputy president of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to hear of the funding being offered by Scottish Government, following two years that have been incredibly challenging for Glasgow city centre.
“We hope that the funding provides a necessary boost to businesses and brings life back to Glasgow’s city centre."
She added: “As we have emerged from lockdown with our own retail, leisure and restaurant developments coming to life, we have seen many customers enjoy the great variety of experiences that the City Centre has to offer, and this welcome investment will ensure a positive recovery for the local community as we move forward.”
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