A public workshop was held in Glasgow this week looking at the future of the Sauchiehall District.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, opened and participated in a public workshop – We Are Sauchiehall – on 3 March.

The event was the first in a series looking at the future of the Sauchiehall District over the next ten years.

"The Sauchiehall District – the city centre area around Sauchiehall Street – is characterised by a strong business and residential presence, a number of educational and cultural institutions and a vibrant arts and creative sector. Representatives of all of these will attend the workshop," a statement from Glasgow City Council said.

Joining Councillor Matheson at the public workshop were Chris McColl, CEO of NY Slice, Sauchiehall Street and a member of the Sauchiehall BID (Business Improvement District) board; Jeff Sharkey, Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; Ainslie Roddick, General Manager of CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts; Jane Sutherland, Chair of Garnethill Community Council and pupils from Garnetbank Primary School.


The proposals are part of Glasgow City Council's City Centre Strategy, a long-term vision for Glasgow to be delivered through two five-year plans.

The previous city centre plan delivered the International Financial Services District, the regeneration of the Merchant City and over £1bn of investment.

One of the proposals is a new Districts Strategy, involving the creation of special districts in the city centre, with a focus on specific streets and the development of their "unique character or specialism".

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "The Sauchiehall District is a hugely important part of the city centre, featuring some of Scotland's leading academic and cultural institutions, as well as large business and residential communities. As part of our proposals for the city centre for the next decade, we want everyone with stake in the future of the district to set the agenda by coming along to these events over the next few months."

People who attend the workshop on March 3 will also be able to use interactive mapping tools developed as part of the Future Cities programme to highlight how they would like to see the district transformed.

The second of these workshops is to take place in April.

(IT/JP)