Glasgow city centre is in a period of intense change
GLASGOW is in a period of intense change. Not since the early 1980s has this city experienced such severe and overlapping challenges as it does today.
The combination of the pandemic, Brexit, the huge rise in online shopping and now the cost- of- living and inflation crises are putting massive pressure on Glasgow, and particularly the city centre as we’ve known it for many decades.
The improvements to homes and neighbourhoods in recent years, the long- term focus on skills and education, and the diversity of our economy, mean the Glasgow of 2022 is much better placed to withstand such shocks than the city of 40 years ago.
But some of the shifts that Glasgow has experienced in the last couple of years are irreversible, structural and global.
Hybrid working, for example, is here to stay. Shops, cafes, bars and public transport are all feeling the impact of the resulting drop in footfall. So too are employers, who find themselves with more office space and overheads than they need.
Similarly, the advance of online retail, accelerated by the restrictions of the pandemic, is continuing rapidly and will not be reversed.
I’ve written several times in this column about the short- term interventions we’ve invested in to attract more people into town as well as the long- term plans to ensure the city centre adapts to change and remains an attractive place to visit, to do business and to live.
The commitments by the owners of the St Enoch Centre and Buchanan Galleries to invest billions in radically overhauling both centres point towards a transforming city centre and are a huge show of confidence in our vision for it.
But some of our challenges require action to be taken in the nearer term. So, alongside the Glasgow Chambers of Commerce, we’ve commissioned two reports to better understand both the impact of the pandemic on the city centre economy and long- standing issues facing the property sector.
The first will explore the future of Glasgow’s retail core, creating a plan to respond to and shape the impact of changing retail and leisure trends as well as growing city centre living, and exploring the potential contribution of significant redevelopment proposals.
This work is due to complete in March when it will come to committee before recommendations are put into action.
The second report examines the issue of property supply and demand and will recommend what needs to be done to address a growing issue. At the present time we have around 400 obsolete buildings built before 1960. Yet, we already know that businesses need smaller and higher quality offices, making a clear case for repurposing. Last week at the annual State of the City Economy conference I announced the creation of a taskforce to develop an action plan to determine what steps must be taken to bring these buildings into productive use. It will report early in the New Year.
This is a piece of work that can’t be delivered by the council alone. I’ve written here before about the scourge of absentee and overseasbased property landlords allowing city centre buildings to rot. The transformation of buildings is something that may need new or strengthened legislation and we’ll certainly push for that if required. But delivering such change will demand a real partnership of the public and private sectors if it’s to have the impact we know it can. Already, there’s an emerging example of the potential of repurposing.
The Met Tower on North Hanover Street, a city landmark for almost 60 years, known to many as the old College of Building and Printing and now bearer of our People Make Glasgow branding, is being transformed over the next two years into a “techscaler”, which is industry jargon for a base for growing and start- up hi- tech firms.
It’s difficult to sum up modern Glasgow’s diverse and complex economy. In the past we could state clearly that we built ships and were a global leader in manufacturing. More recently, we became known as a centre for retail and leisure. But we also know from experience that overconcentration of jobs in a small number of sectors is very risky.
What happens to them when times and technologies change?
That’s why our job at the council is to make sure young – and not so young – Glaswegians have as wide a range of opportunities as possible and the skills to take up them up.
Glasgow now provides accessible job and career opportunities previous generations wouldn’t have dreamed of: in space and satellite technology; broadcasting; the manufacture of the next wave of electronics; hi- tech roles in healthcare, finance and maritime; and all manner of cutting edge industries who are creating their bases here in the city.
And with plans like those for the Met Tower, these new sectors are also coming right into the city centre. They’re becoming a very visible part of Glasgow’s economy, giving older buildings new purposes and new leases of life.
I won’t play down our challenges, which can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when they’re made worse by conditions beyond our control.
But even in these toughest of times, we have a route to get Glasgow through this in the best possible shape to recover and support our environment, our economy, our communities and our people.