Talksheldover£9mrevamp plan for West End favourite

PLANS to give one of Glasgow’s most popular shopping streets a £9million makeover have been discussed at a council meeting.

The council’s Regeneration and the Economy Committee met yesterday to discuss the results of public consultation on how to improve the look of Byres Road in the West End.

The public consultation revealed that there is support for full redesign of the street with improvements benefiting groups such as cyclists and pedestrians.

Other plans proposed include enhancing the pedestrian environment with improved surfaces, reduced street clutter and pavement seating.

During the meeting, safe cycle routes was discussed as well as resources available to allow community involvement in design and programming of events in potential new civic spaces.

Priority spaces were identified including Ashton Road car park, Church Street triangle, and corners at Chancellor Street and Great George Street.

Councillor Frank McAveety, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Byres Road is a jewel in the crown of Glasgow’s economic and social life, attracting visitors from Glasgow and beyond to its attractions during the day and at night.

“This consultation process will help to ensure that it remains in this position by informing how best to shape the Byres Road that everyone with an interest in the area wants, and I would urge all stakeholders to participate.”

The £9m of funding for these public realm improvements will come from the £1.13billion Glasgow City Region City Deal. The works will also aim to improve connections to the Glasgow University campus and are due to begin in late 2018.

Works will complement the University’s ambitious proposals which will see the expansion of the campus onto the site of the former Western Infirmary.

The University estimates that its campus expansion has the potential to create 2500 new j obs and contribute an additional £130m to the economy each year.

The council has appointed a design team, led by local architects Benton Scott-Simmons, to work on the preparation of public realm designs, and from February they will undertake community consultation and technical design work before construction work begins.

A series of public events will form part of the next stage of consultation on the proposed improvements, with the first of these taking place at Hillhead Library on February 23.

There will be individual consultation processes for each section of Byres Road throughout the rest of 2017 and the first half of 2018.

An online information and consultation hub is available via www.facebook.com/ByresRoadCorners.