We will aim to create a more vibrant city for the new year

Glasgow’s council leader writes for the Evening Times

AS another year draws to a close and Christmas is upon us yet again, there’s an opportunity to reflect on the 12 months which have past. There just isn’t the space here to go through every major development of 2018.

Instead, I’ll give you a run through some of highs and the occasional low, which, in a major city like Glasgow, sometimes overlap.

One of the most significant events of the past year have been the fires at Victoria’s Nightclub and Mackintosh School of Art. The impact on the lives of displaced residents and business owners has undoubtedly been extremely difficult.

But even before these separate tragedies, Sauchiehall Street headed the queue as the first to benefit from the Avenues project. £7.2million has been invested to improve the street’s overall look and feel.

And this adversity has given us the opportunity to reimagine Sauchiehall Street as a model of a 21st century high street.

Related to this, the recent unveiling of the Connectivity Commission’s first report gives us an opportunity to reimagine our city centre for the 21st century.

The report is visionary and transformative and, crucially, deliverable – if we make bold choices in the years ahead.

And improved bus services are absolutely critical to addressing the economic, social and civic exclusion felt by too many of our citizens.

That’s why the City Council and major bus companies have signed up to a new Glasgow Bus Partnership. We have a long, long way to go for better services, fares and routes but we’ve started on that journey.

One of the most personally satisfying moments of the year was the successful bid for a Channel 4 hub. Channel 4’s choice of Glasgow as one of their new locations does so much more than bring 50 highend jobs to the city, welcome though that is.

We are now home to a broadcaster with global profile and presence and significant spending power, and this really does so much for our reputation as a city of rich cultural and creative diversity. Glasgow will really benefit from this.

And communities on the ground are now seeing real progress around City Deal projects.

Sighthill for example will see hundreds of new homes completed by the end of 2019, while the area’s new park – a real visitor destination – will be ready by next summer. All this will connect with the city centre via a major new footbridge.

The City Deal was central in the announcement earlier this year by Barclays to create 2500 jobs at Tradeston, a move which will also be critical in ensuring all our citizens and communities share in Glasgow’s prosperity.

We secured a commitment that 341 posts are ring-fenced for disadvantaged workers or those who have a disability.

Major investors are taking on board our commitment to inclusive economic growth because they know that schemes such as this are good for their own reputations and ability to attract and retain talent and customers.

Crucially we made more progress in resolving generations of discrimination within Glasgow City Council in 12 months than our predecessors did in 12 years. (And that’s if they ever did want to resolve it.) We expect to have agreement from all parties very early in 2019.

On the other side of the coin, Brexit continues to hang heavy over us.

I continue to meet with businesses large and small, and what I hear time and again is deep concern about the impact Brexit in any form – but especially in a form that takes us out of the single market and customs union – will have on a city economy.

The clock continues to tick down to March with real businesses, real employers, real workers and real publicservice providers still in limbo.

In 2019 the City Government will continue in its endeavour to create a city that is more vibrant, more liveable, more sustainable, healthier and more equitable; a city where the quality of life of every citizen is our abiding concern. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

This adversity has given us the opportunity to reimagine Sauchiehall Street as a model of a 21st century high street