New Plan Approved to Reinvigorate Glasgow’s Retail Core

A Vision and Delivery Plan for Glasgow’s ‘Golden Z’ was approved at a Glasgow City Council committee today (31 August). The ‘Golden Z’ is Glasgow’s traditional retail core of Argyle, Buchanan and Sauchiehall and is a key part of the city's economy. The aim is to make this area more resilient, diverse and green. 

The Golden Z Vision is structured around six themes: 

• Balanced - the document considers how and where to diversify the range of uses across the Z. The importance of good quality retail premises and their concentration on the prime spine of Buchanan Street is highlighted, complemented by a greater mix of restaurant, café, bar and leisure uses to activate key routes and adjoining streets. The need for more homes, workspaces and cultural attractions to enliven the Z through different times of the day and evening is outlined. 

• Legible - it explores how the Golden Z, as the recognised spine of how we navigate the city centre, can contribute to more sustainable travel, be made more accessible, permeable and benefit from better connected movement networks and urban spaces. 

• Living - it explores opportunities to create new homes of various tenures and formats, (including affordable, family, student and later living homes) within new and repurposed buildings and upper floors. The need to provide centrally located community facilities and services to enable their development is highlighted. 

• Working - it highlights the opportunities around the Z to create new agile workspace, building on recent successes such as McLellan Works on Sauchiehall Street. Nurturing links with educational institutions is also explored. 

• Vibrant - it reinforces the strong cultural offer in and around the Golden Z and explores how cultural attractions and institutions can be better integrated to enhance cultural participation and boost the leisure economy, particularly the Sauchiehall Street cluster. The importance of ensuring a vibrant and safe city centre providing culture, music, bars and restaurants which enhance the city's economy and destination appeal is highlighted, as is the contribution of meanwhile uses. 

• Responsible - it outlines how the Golden Z can progress the city's response to the climate emergency; in progressing carbon neutrality, increasing density, property repurposing, greening the grey and in ensuring the city core is accessible, safe and welcoming for all. 

During the period of engagement and consultation, consideration was given to the main issues currently affecting the Golden Z. These include the impact of changing retail and leisure trends, a growing city centre population, lingering post-pandemic behaviour changes in how we shop, work and live, and the pressing need to repurpose vacant sites and buildings in the area, changing investor and occupier demands - as well as the potential contribution of significant future redevelopment proposals, such as those recently announced for both the Buchanan Galleries and St Enoch Centre. 

The vision and delivery plan reimagines the Golden Z and identifies 3 key areas of focus:

• the former ABC / Jumpin Jacks site adjoining the Glasgow School of Art
• the area on Sauchiehall Street around the former BHS, Watt Bros, and former Victoria's nightclub gap site
• the area around the vacant TJ Hughes site near Trongate.

The new vision and delivery plan will provide a clear direction on the future development of the Golden Z, giving confidence to businesses, residents, investors and developers. The vision and plan identified five key priorities for intervention and investment - by both the public and private sectors - that will deliver the area's economic recovery and underpin its economic, social and environmental resilience:

• Diversification of uses
• Densification & retrofit of land and buildings
• Creation of world-class public spaces
• Improving connectivity and accessibility
• Ensuring inclusivity and appeal to a more diverse range of users

To achieve these objectives, and have a transformative impact, the following actions / interventions have been identified as a focus for action: progressing the redevelopment options for the three areas of focus; proactively tackling blight. and promoting good stewardship of buildings and site..

The ambitions and actions of the Vision and Plan for the Golden Z will be reflected in the council's forthcoming City Centre Strategy for 2024-30, and the council will continue to work with stakeholders to deliver these ambitions.

Councillor Angus Millar, Convener for City Centre Recovery at Glasgow City Council, said: "Sauchiehall, Argyle and Buchanan Streets have long been at the heart of the city centre experience, but these key thoroughfares have been increasingly impacted by the major structural economic changes that are affecting city centres everywhere. Having a particular focus on this historic shopping area will help ensure it adapts to the changing retail sector and takes the opportunities coming its way. The actions within the plan for the 'Golden Z' will support our efforts to encourage a more diverse mix of uses in the city centre, including new residential accommodation, as well as finding positive solutions for key sites and supporting the repurposing of vacant property. The continued rollout of the Avenues programme and a new city centre greening strategy will help improve the area's look and feel, while we also want to capitalise on its fantastic cultural and creative assets as part of the regeneration of Sauchiehall Street. We look forward to working with partners in pursuing this vision, with this work being an important part of our wider Glasgow City Centre Strategy which will be published and consulted upon in the coming weeks." 

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Stuart Patrick, said: "This report is full of data and insights about the former Golden Z and it makes an extensive contribution to the emerging plan for tackling the challenges faced by the City Centre post-pandemic. We now have a full suite of recommendations for empty buildings, improving the city centre transport system and doubling residential accommodation in the city centre. We especially welcome the recommendation for a powerful cultural district based on and around Sauchiehall Street and the continuing importance of retail to both Buchanan Street and Argyle Street. Now our focus turns to the next steps in delivering the vision the report sets out. That includes attracting the required funding from private and public partners, and seizing the opportunity that lies in front of us to create an expert team that will help to deliver the report's recommendations." 

For more information read Glasgow City Council's news release  or visit the dedicated project web page.  

The Golden Z project is funded by the Scottish Government's City Centre Recovery Fund and will be overseen by Glasgow's City Centre Task Force, co-chaired by Councillor Angus Millar and Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.