Consultation on future of George Square to end this week

There is one more week for Glasgow residents to have their say on the future of George Square.
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A four-week consultation started last month and will end on Friday, March 11.

What is the consultation about?

Glasgow’s main civic space and surrounding streets are being redeveloped under the council’s £115m Avenues project.

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Participants are asked whether private cars should be banned and if a water feature should be included. They can also give their view on the possibility of repositioning some of the monuments and statues.

What would you like to see happen to George Square?What would you like to see happen to George Square?
What would you like to see happen to George Square?

The council’s consultation looks at five civic spaces around the world — Bryant Square, New York; Union Square, San Francisco; London’s Leicester and Trafalgar Squares and Old Market Square, Nottingham.

It asks which elements of these squares would work in Glasgow.

A £2.2m design contract was awarded to John McAslan + Partners for George Square in April last year. The architectural practice had secured a contact to re-design the Square in 2013 but it was cancelled by then council leader Gordon Matheson.

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That U-turn was made despite around £100,000 being spent on the scheme.

The new planned revamp is part of the Avenues programme, a £115m scheme funded by the Glasgow City Region City Deal. It has already involved an active travel route for pedestrians and cyclists on Sauchiehall Street.

As well as George Square, the consultation will focus on the revamp of St Vincent Street, Dundas Street, Dundas Lane, John Street, St Vincent Place, Miller Street and Hanover Street.

The consultation follows a ‘public conversation’ on George Square in 2019.

‘Greatest civic space’

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When it launched, council leader Susan Aitken said: “George Square should be Glasgow’s greatest civic space — and, through this consultation, we all have the opportunity to make sure the square and its surrounding Avenues meet our aspirations for the future.

“While the conversation about George Square back in 2019 told us what the people of the city felt about the space, and their ambitions for it, this consultation is different — this time we are asking for views specifically on how people want the Square to look, in terms of its design and what is in it.”

Anyone interested in taking part in the consultation should click HERE.

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