PLANS to transform Glasgow's dingy alleyways into public spaces have been revealed.

The scheme would see the city centre lanes spruced up and opened to pedestrians in line with similar schemes in cities including Melbourne and Colorado.

But city lanes have been previously been branded crime hotspots and Gordon Lane was closed off to the public in 2012 after a woman was sexually assaulted amid further complaints about thefts and drug taking.

Other city centre alleyways - including a stretch of Sauchiehall Lane - have previously the subject of overnight closures to combat antisocial behaviour.

A report into the new plans to overhaul city alleyways, to be tabled at a Glasgow City Council committee meeting next week, states that the lanes have "not traditionally been utilised to their full potential".

It adds that they often have "inadequate lighting" are "badly maintained" with low footfall and many act only as a place to store bins.

It adds: "As a consequence opportunities exist for crime and antisocial behaviour."

The report, prepared by the council's executive director of development and regeneration services, adds that some lanes have been successfully developed as part of a public-private partnership with companies whose premises sit on the alleyway.

The local authority hopes to build on this success to tackle "antisocial behaviour, poor physical environment, and connectivity".

"The Lanes Strategy will seek to learn from international good practice, for example the cities of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in Australia which have already undergone a successful regeneration of their city centre lanes, as have Colorado and Chicago in the USA, and Vancover, Oregon, and the city of Edmonton in Canada, " states the report.

The council say the Lanes Strategy - part of a masterplan of 55 city centre improvements - will be supported by a "multi-disciplinary team of consultants".

According to the report, the project will have three stages.

A team will first visit all the lanes in the city centre and collect information on use, footfall and crime figures.

The lanes will then be prioritised for development before new concepts are developed.

For the purposes of the project, a lane is defined as a passageway or thoroughfare between or to the rear of buildings and may be covered or open and may have gates or temporary barriers.

Lanes which are not accessible to cars are included in the scheme are those which are privately owned although the council admits that ownership of lanes is a "complex matter" with some having a number of owners.

If lanes are to be cleared of bins, external store will be required for which planning permission must be sought.

The plans will be discussed by members of the Regeneration and the Economy Policy Development Committee on Tuesday.