By Megan Bonar
BBC Scotland News
Councillors in Glasgow’s city chambers will sit down this week to rubberstamp one of its boldest plans for Scotland’s largest city.
The vision is to redevelop the “Golden Z” – the area encompassing Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street.
The council wants to transform the urban landscape and bolster economic growth in the city centre.
The blueprint would revitalize key areas within the city, fostering innovation, sustainability, and community engagement.
The city centre has come in for criticism recently for its empty buildings, closed-down shops and an air of neglect.
Harriet Bermingham feels that Glasgow has “lost its heart”
Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken has suggested exploring the use of compulsory sales orders, which would allow the council to take action against absent owners.
But what changes do the people who know the city best want to see?
On Sauchiehall Street, Harriet Bermingham from Glasgow’s Summerton says she has seen first-hand a lot of changes in Glasgow, but she fears not all were for the best.
“It makes me feel quite sad coming into the town now. Glasgow’s lost its heart,” She told BBC Scotland News.
Image source, PA Media
Department stores such as Debenhams are now gone from Argyle Street
Ms Bermingham is of a generation that fondly remembers a city centre full of department stores, from Debenhams to British Home Stores. Filling many of the empty buildings visible in the city centre now is something she’d like to see tackled.
She continued: “I think they should do something with the empty shops, they’ve lain empty for far too long- it brings the place down.
“For older people, we need some shops like the ones we used to have.
“Young people shop online, they come in to the town to drink or socialise. Older people don’t, they rely on the town.”
Also enjoying a seat on Sauchiehall Street is Charlie Wood, a student from North Yorkshire, visiting friends in Glasgow.
Sitting on Sauchiehall Street, Charlie Wood thinks the city is thriving but needs “money spent on it”
Charlie says compared to the cities close to his hometown in Bedale, Glasgow appears to be “thriving”.
He said: “I like the atmosphere in Glasgow. There’s lots going on and there’s a good student culture.
“I don’t think the area needs much redevelopment, not like a overhaul or anything but maybe a bit of money put into it, I mean look how busy it is on a weekday, it seems to be thriving to me.”
He added there were often misconceptions about Glasgow. Before his visit he was told horror stories about litter piling up and dirty streets, something he has not witnessed during his visit.
On Argyle Street, another street included in the regeneration plans, is Brian McHugh who would like to see the city centre restored as Glasgow’s “hub”.
Brian McHugh believes bus lanes and the LEZ have contributed to people staying away from Glasgow city centre
“The city centre is dead, it’s like a shopping precinct graveyard,” he said “It’s depressing if you’ve grown up in Glasgow.”
Brian believes a number of schemes recently introduced have contributed to keeping shoppers staying away.
He added: “If you drive into the city centre, it’s like a lottery whether you pick up a fine or not. If you are caught going into low emission zones, or you can get a fine for going into a bus lane.”
He’d like to see more initiatives to bring people into the city.
Image source, PA Media
Glasgow’s Buchanan Street links Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street in the premium “Golden Z” area.
“The city centre should be the city centre, it should be the hub where everybody goes to get their grub, their supplies, to socialise.”
“I don’t want to see fancy flats built, because then where we all go? What they want to do is maximise their profits by selling flats in the city centre to rich people, that’s not what Glasgow should be.”
The vision for Glasgow’s Golden Z was unveiled to stakeholders earlier this month and are due to be approved this week.
With funding from the Scottish government’s City Centre Recovery Fund, Glasgow’s City Centre Task Force will take the vision forward over the next years and decades.
