ITS reputation came under fire when Glasgow Council leader Susan Aitken said the city needed a 'spruce up' ahead of COP26 as rubbish piled up on the streets due to the bin strikes and it suffered badly during the pandemic.
Now Glasgow is fighting back and pulling out all the stops to make the streets and retail areas more attractive to shoppers and visitors.
Work is underway to improve the look and feel of the city centre to help boost Glasgow's economic recovery following the pandemic.
Read more: Glasgow's Briggait to become market hall food and drink hub under £1.6m plan
From streets being deep cleaned and graffiti removal, to dressing the exterior of vacant shopfront and finding temporary uses for retail buildings currently not in use, it is a drive to make the city centre more attractive.
The initiative will also support businesses to encourage an increase in café culture.
Community Enforcement Officers are being funded to support visitors to the city centre, report issues including anti-social behaviour and assist businesses with emerging issues.
The work, supported by almost £2million in Scottish Government funding, is being delivered by Glasgow’s City Centre Task Force (CCTF), which was established to bring together Glasgow City Council, local businesses and other partners to provide an immediate response to Covid and to help steer it through the wider and longer-term changes ahead.
There will also be a new visitor campaign with accompanying events to attract Glaswegians and visitors back to the city centre.
It will also involve expert studies focusing on the long-term future for the city centre, including repurposing properties for future demand and use, and a blueprint for how Glasgow adapts to the huge structural changes affecting city centres globally.
Councillor Angus Millar, Convener for City Centre Recovery at Glasgow City Council, said: “Businesses and residents want to see cleaner streets, the blight of vacant properties addressed, graffiti removed and to enjoy more events and café culture on our streets.
“This Scottish Government funding will really assist in achieving those aims and in attracting more visitors to the city centre and restoring the vibrancy and vitality Glasgow is renowned for. It will also help us plan for those longer-term shifts which cities across the world are facing, including the relentless rise of online retail and need to adapt to climate change and deliver a city centre fit for the next century."
Stuart Patrick, task force co-chairman and chief executive of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said the programme will not only help improve the centre’s look and feel but will actively support a marketing campaign to draw consumers back to enjoy our retail, hospitality and leisure offerings.
Mr Patrick said: “The beginning of the programme to the support city centre recovery is an encouraging development. We all know that Glasgow city centre has suffered badly from the pandemic and businesses will be keen to see footfall return and the funding from Scottish Government to support such work is very much welcomed.
“Glasgow’s footfall is still well below its pre-pandemic levels with the shortfall now 21% lower than 2019 levels. This equates to 930,000 less visitors in the city centre last month, which unfortunately has contributed towards city centre ground floor unit vacancy rates increasing by 23% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“We will also continue to support the work of the City Centre Taskforce in finding new uses for so many of the shop units and older offices that are now vacant.
“Driving footfall back into our city must remain a priority for all levels of Government and the beginning of this programme will be welcomed by all businesses across the city.”
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