THE choreographed attempt to diminish the decline of Glasgow’s most iconic boulevards is underway. Perhaps, having observed the dozens of boarded-up shopfronts and For Sale signs that currently disfigure Sauchiehall Street, you might think that it’s being prepared as the backdrop for another bleak, post-nuclear dystopia production by Hollywood. Perhaps, having seen the High Street, one of the most historic thoroughfares in Scotland, you might think that it’s being turned into a brick dormitory for affluent overseas students. But you’d be wrong, apparently.

It seems though, that we’ve all been imagining the rapid descent of Sauchiehall Street into urban decrepitude. We’re actually experiencing the dawn of a new golden age and should be ashamed of ourselves for failing to notice those subtle changes that have been invisible to all but the most sophisticated eyes.

One of these is the boss of a private building developer currently seeking to sell the last remaining office units in the Mclellan Galleries and thus make good on a £15m punt. According to him, this and one other un-named development make the criticism of the long-term decline of Sauchiehall Street “unjustified” because “it isn’t any different to any main retail street in Britain”. This though, isn’t just “any main retail street” it’s the most recognised and fondly-regarded street in the West of Scotland which, until a few years ago, was teeming with life.

Its decline, taken with the deliberate desecration of the equally iconic High Street to the east, indicates the failure of successive council administrations to produce a long-term economic and regeneration policy for Glasgow city centre.

Visitors who have always loved Glasgow have been similarly struck by the rapid and very obvious decline of the city centre. In the absence of effective scrutiny and challenge of elected members by time-serving executives all we have are commentators and trade union activists.

The lack of a masterplan was highlighted last year when the owners expressed their intention to demolish Buchanan Galleries and start again. There was talk of task forces, but only because the owners had forced the issue. Any plan that’s designed merely around the special needs of the owners of Buchanan Galleries isn’t a plan at all. The council should take ownership of this opportunity to look at the regeneration of the entire city centre by putting people and small businesses at its heart and to change the economic drivers of the city.

The council has already put in place a plan to grow the population of the city centre by around 20,000 over the next decade or so. We need to know that this won’t simply rest on turning further swathes of land into bedsits for Glasgow and Strathclyde universities.

Perhaps the city could look at what happened in Manchester where the authorities entered into agreements with traditional private-sector house-builders to provide them with support to build decent-quality dwellings at affordable prices. Those of us on the left who might cavil at partnering with private construction firms need to be aware that social housing programmes all get built by them anyway. It’s about making good deals for the people.

In doing this, you begin to squeeze out greedy private landlords exploiting the burgeoning build-to-rent market where the model is making tiny units with few local amenities for higher returns. By investing in decent-quality, city centre dwellings we take pressure off green spaces outside city centre.

We should be prepared to build tall rather than wide and thus reduce pressure on our open, green spaces. We need also to invoke the national SNP policy of requiring builders to ensure at least 25% of their developments are set aside for affordable housing. Glasgow rarely uses this instrument.

This all requires the ability and imagination to think the unthinkable; to take risks and to embed a preferential option for real people of low or average means to participate in what a living, vibrant and magnificent Glasgow can offer. It was their forbears, after all, who built this city. We did it in 2012 where the local authority partnered with four of Scotland’s largest construction firms to build the Commonwealth Games Athletes Village at a point east of the city centre where the Clyde weaves beautifully in and around Glasgow Green.

Why was this model of riverside development not extended through the city centre and westwards? Many other cities blessed with rivers have made the waterfront retail and cultural hubs driven by private-public partnerships. In Glasgow where the river runs through the city centre we have simply built gangways for joggers and dog-walkers.

Nor am I buying the old excuse about complicated land issues occasioned by lost owners and different local authorities. This is where a firm and purposeful deployment of Compulsory Purchase Orders must occur. These were introduced specifically to curb the activities of greedy landlords and using dormant or under-used land for the clear common good. The cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by the pandemic are all the levers you need to trigger CPOs along the river.

Susan Aitken, like me, is a proud Glaswegian and her commitment to our city and its people can’t be questioned. And perhaps I’ve been a little harsh. Sauchiehall Street has endured an absurdly high number of misfortunes such as the two Art School fires and the one that destroyed a stretch around the old Victoria’s nightclub. These were followed by Covid’s retail apocalypse.

She has one difficult term of office under her belt and is assured of another one in May’s council elections. Rather than be led by the private sector, she must use what considerable levers she already has to harness it. Listen to the people and let their needs drive regeneration. If you can bring them back to live within our beautiful built heritage the shops and the pubs, the cafes and the restaurants will follow.

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest and most important city. Almost half of Scotland’s population live within an hour of it. In a cabinet where it’s wretchedly under-represented there must be a dedicated Minister for Glasgow who can use all the resources and personnel of the state to help drive this city’s recovery.

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