THE regeneration of Glasgow’s trendy Finnieston district has excluded the residents who need it most, a study claims.
It found that a rise in bars, restaurants and boutique shops had been positive for students and young professionals because amenities were “relatively cheap” in comparison with the city’s West End.
However the changes to the area, recently named the hippest part of the UK, have been less positive for long-term residents, the study found, because of the proliferation of licensed venues and the opening of the Hydro music venue.
They have actually created more problems for residents such as reduced parking, litter and increased noise and reduced amenities such as community hubs.
The study was carried out by Glasgow Centre for Population Health based on discussions with local residents and has not yet been published.
Housing regeneration has also had both positive and negative impacts in that properties were now in a better condition.
However new developments had been focussed on students who don’t tend to settle in the area, resulting in a loss of community.
Finnieston was once regarded as a strip of tenement housing connecting the city centre with the West End. However in recent years the area has experienced what experts term a “first wave” of gentrification where existing residents haven’t yet been pushed out by rising house prices and increased living costs.
It now boasts some of the city’s top restaurants including Ox and Finch and The Gannet, which have both received a Michelin Bib Gourmand and was recently named the hippest place to live in the UK.
The study concluded that to benefit health and reduce inequalities regeneration must focus, firstly, on the people who are most in need of it.
Dr Pete Seaman director of GCPH said: “Regeneration doesn’t always lead to gentrification and pushing people out.
“An influx of licensed premises is entirely appropriate in an area like Finnieston because of it’s proximity to the West End but would look very different in an area like Easterhouse.
“It’s about making sure you have the balance.”
Dr Nina Baker, Green councillor for Anderston City said: “I totally agree with their analysis.
"Their critique of the issues: "fallout" from the SEC/Hydro audiences in litter antisocial behaviour and parking problems; the proliferation of high-rent student residences have not been good for the area. The Yorkhill residents are more vocal but arguably the Anderston residents suffer as much or more."
However Labour Councillor Philip Braat believes that local people have benefitted from the changes.
He said: “I don’t agree that local residents have been excluded and I’m working to ensure they are included.
“It has provided safer and warmer homes and the economic growth is a real success story but that does bring some changes with regards to cleansing and anti-social behaviour.
“I’m working with the local residents and businesses to try to get more of the communal bins off the streets.
“We’ve just kick-started a programme of re-surfacing of the pavements on Argyle Street, making them safer and more amenable for residents and of course the businesses.
“I’ve also been in contact with the management of the SEC to set up a working group to look at anti-social behaviour and parking issues.”
The study - Perspectives on Place - concluded: “The drive for economic development and creating a vibrant neighbourhood has actually excluded those already living there.
“If the goal of regeneration is to reduce inequality and to improve health, then it should respond first and foremost to those currently struggling and avoid threatening valuable local resources at the expense of providing city orientated services.”
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 here