BOLD ideas for the transformation of Glasgow city centre over the next 30 years have been revealed.

Proposals include cutting the number of car journeys in half, revamping bus services and upgrading High Street Station, which could welcome high-speed rail.

Residents could also see an ‘urban park’ at Blythswood Hill with Blythswood Square opened to the public and a major ‘public space’ at King Street car park.

Glasgow City Council wants to turn the riverside into an attractive destination and has laid out plans to address changing retail patterns.

The city’s evolution has been outlined in a draft strategy – and the council wants to hear your views. Consultation on the plans runs until January 17, with feedback due in May next year.

“Glasgow is a city in transition,” a spokesman said. “Its transformation and reinvention over the last thirty years, from an area scarred by severe industrial decline to a modern outward-looking global destination city, is a world leading example of regeneration.

“The city centre today is vibrant and thriving: rich in heritage, fine architecture, and culture; a productive centre for business and the creative industries; home to world renowned centres of learning and research, and bustling with tourists, residents, workers and visitors attracted to renewed neighbourhoods like Merchant City with its lively social scene.

“As the centre moves forward towards 2050, there remain challenges to address and emerging opportunities to embrace. Prevailing social and health inequalities and the urgent global challenge of climate change demand a response that will shape the centre’s physical environment.”

The report states Glasgow has one of the fastest growing economies in the UK, with an aim to be the most productive major city economy in the UK by 2023.

The “vibrant economy and cultural life” combined with an “inherent culture of innovation” provides a “strong platform” for the next 30 years.

With demand for retail floorspace falling due to changes in shopping patterns, the report insists the city centre must diversify, becoming a “more attractive day out”.

Ideas include encouraging new leisure, arts and cultural attractions, more public spaces and more events. A retail strategy will be prepared to flesh out the proposals.

Any plans must cater for families and children which the city centre “currently does not serve well”, the report says.

Other work could include strengthening “creative communities” at Trongate, Merchant City, Speirs Locks, Barras and Tradeston as well as supporting an arts cluster on Sauchiehall Street, linking with the redevelopment of Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh Building.

It will also involve supporting the expansion of International Financial Services District to provide a more “vibrant riverfront”.

The pedestrian is king in Glasgow 2050. Car journeys should have been reduced by 50%  in 30 years, the report states, with a 30% target set for 2030.

“The centre must realise a transformational modal shift, where pedestrians and cyclists dominate over the car, within a more walkable and attractive streetscape that encourages sustainable travel behaviours.

“The remodelling of Buchanan Street 20 years ago created a successful people-focused street of global recognition.”

A joined up cycle network, an “outstanding”, child-friendly pedestrian environment and a simplified, prioritised bus system are all part of the plans.

Streets could be “softened by street trees, rain gardens and attractive green spaces”.

Glasgow should develop “street types”. “Not every street needs to have traffic move through it nor should every street be pedestrianised, for the city to work efficiently.”

The report also recommends drawing up a strategy to deliver improvements to the M8.

There are proposals to upgrade High Street Station, including a new public plaza, and the station is a potential terminus for HS2, a planned high-speed railway across the UK.

The centre of Glasgow should be climate resilient and have a network of public spaces, the report states.

It describes the current lack of public space as “critical”. Required works include alleviating tidal flooding risks on the riverside and combating “traffic dominated” streets.

Opening Blythswood Square to the public should be explored as it has the “potential to provide quality public amenity space”, the council says.

Blythswood Hill, an increasingly residential neighbourhood, could be the focus for a new ‘urban park’, including children’s play.

The redevelopment of Candleriggs should “provide a new focal point for the Merchant City” by building on its success as a temporary events space.

And King Street car park should include a new public space to connect the Merchant City and the riverside.

Ideas for a greener city also include “pocket parks” at key intersections, a riverside park from Glasgow Green to the SEC and the proposed M8 cap at Charing Cross Station and the Mitchell Library. Plans to enhance George Square are also included in the report.

This strategy is one of six documents which will lay out Glasgow’s future. Consultations on Govan/Partick and the River Clyde Development Corridor are already completed.

Public conversations on the remaining three frameworks: Glasgow North, Greater Easterhouse and Inner East, will be carried out at a later date.

Target to double population

AMBITIOUS plans to transform the city centre by 2050 could see its population double.

Around 20,000 people currently live in the centre of Glasgow but the council wants to increase that to 40,000 over the next 30 years.

City chiefs are hoping to see a diverse population, with a mix of ages and cultures. They also want to stop workers moving out to Glasgow’s suburbs.

A redevelopment strategy states “city centres internationally are benefitting from a residential resurgence”.

“The quality of life afforded by being within walking distance of work, home, cultural and leisure opportunities is attracting people back to live in improved central neighbourhoods.

“This, in turn, is fuelling demand for greater community infrastructure to make centre’s more liveable; in shops, schools, child care, medical services, open spaces as well as more attractive, walkable and less car dependent environments.”

According to the report, streets will be quieter and greener. A range of “attainable and affordable” homes should be served by accessible shops and services, recreational spaces, transport options and employment opportunities, it adds.

The council also wants to offer alternatives to suburban relocation, to retain the working age population within the city centre, by broadening its housing offer.

Currently, housing in the centre is largely dominated by one bedroom flats, serving predominantly students and the young, professional workers.

The authority believes areas such as Garnethill, Blythswood, Townhead and Laurieston are suited to family living due to “their quieter character” and opportunities to create play space.

The report recommends student accommodation should be better integrated into communities as some halls are currently isolated.

It states there is a need for primary schools to the south and east of the city centre and walking and cycling routes to existing schools should be improved.

Opportunities to create new homes “lie in the redevelopment of vacant land and buildings, conversions of former/redundant commercial buildings and conversion of upper floors”.