Plans to transform the banks of Glasgow’s River Clyde in a bid to connect key parts of the city are set to be unveiled this week.
A £900,000 public consultation on the future of the St Enoch district, which connects the city centre, the south of the city and the Merchant City, is expected to launch this Friday and run for eight weeks.
READ MORE: Owners of Glasgow's St Enoch shopping mall accused of 'economic fiction' after Paradise Papers leak
Council leader Susan Aitken said the area had a central role to play in the regeneration of both the city and riverside.
Ms Aitken said in a report: “The [St Enoch] district is a dynamic city quarter with a diverse and distinctive amenity and community.
“The riverside location is also a clearly under-utilised asset that must be redefined and reconfigured to attract footfall and investment.
“The regeneration of Glasgow City Centre and the River Clyde Corridor should both be considered national priority projects. The St Enoch district has a central role in both.”
Construction work on a nine-screen cinema complex with nine new restaurants as part of a £40million leisure development is already underway at St Enoch Shopping Centre and will add 30,000 sq ft to the building.
The enhanced offer at the shopping mall is expected to attract an additional two million people per year and, once completed, St Enoch will have the largest consolidated catering offer in the city.
The council is now looking to increase the level of public transport making public spaces along the under-utilised river more accessible. It is hoped steps taken to attract footfall and investment in that part of the city will be successful.
READ MORE: St Enoch shows its faith in the future of Glasgow
Glasgow’s City Centre original five-year strategy went live in April 2014 with 55 ambitious plans announced for nine city centre districts.
Work throughout the first district Sauchiehall and Garnethill is underway while public consultation on the second district – Broomielaw is complete and a report expected to be presented to the city administration committee on Thursday.
The St Enoch district is the third of nine regeneration plans for the city centre to be brought forward following discussions with the local community and stakeholders.
A new consultation period will offer further opportunities for residents to have their say on the proposals and an action plan produced following the public meetings.
Six Strategic themes have been developed to improve the area. Objectives must be met if Glasgow it to compete as a leading European city.
Ms Aitken continued: “The St Enoch development framework has been prepared in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders and consultees.
“Engagement and consultation have been conducted on-street, online, in public exhibitions, design workshops and via social media.
“Participants have included residents, businesses, land and building owners, developers and investors, local and national agencies, elected members, charities and tourists.
“These ideas have shaped the recommendations for the St Enoch projects.”
The public will be encouraged to give fresh feedback on the proposed river park which aims to create a world-class linear public space along both banks of the River Clyde.
The continuous urban park would transform the river, kick-start development and become a key destination and attraction within the city centre while creating a quality public space with cultural activities for all ages.
New development in the area will be required to respect Glasgow’s historic built heritage and incorporate the characteristics of important buildings. An official planning application to transform Custom House Quay, which is part of the St Enoch District, is expected to be made to the council in due course.
Steps will be taken to address the shortage of quality green and public spaces while enhancing the city centre’s public transport and active travel networks to create a sustainable and walkable city.
It is hoped proposals will encourage more people to live in that part of the city boosting the night-time economy as a result.
Glasgow City Council has confirmed it will engage with stakeholders and partners to develop a masterplan strategy for both sides of the river.
The final four city centre regeneration frameworks – Cowcaddens, Merchant City, Townhead and the Learning Quarter are expected to be commissioned late 2019 early 2020.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel