PROJECT: MERCHANT CITY CONSTITUENCY: GLASGOW KELVIN LOCAL AUTHORITY: GLASGOW COUNCIL AMOUNT AWARDED: £1,600,000
The Glasgow Merchant City Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) is a grants programme aimed at regenerating the historic heart of Glasgow. The scheme, which runs from 2000 to 2005, is an example of heritage funding working within a broader strategic context of regeneration and economic development.
A strategic approach
The THI was initiated to address a series of problems in the Merchant City, including:
falling numbers of people using local businesses and the polarisation of commercial activity in the city centre;
degraded public realm and floorspace;
retail units that were not readily lettable due to the state of repair, image or security of the building; and
the isolation of the Merchant City from the more successful central area of Glasgow.
Character and vibrancy
In May 2002 Glasgow City Council launched a Five Year Plan for the Merchant City and Trongate areas. The plan responds to the spectrum of social, environmental and economic issues that affect the area. The THI is a vital component of this plan because historic buildings define the character and distinctiveness of the Merchant City.
The aims of the initiative are to improve the character of this exciting area and transform it into an attractive destination for shopping and cultural pursuits as well as a popular place to live and work.
The townscape grants
The Merchant City – particularly Trongate – has major historic and architectural significance. The area incorporates some of the oldest structures in Glasgow, with many examples of medieval, Victorian and Edwardian buildings. Over £1. 6 million has been awarded by the Merchant City Initiative for building repairs, reinstatement of features, returning vacant historic floorspace back into use, enhancing gap sites and improving public spaces.
Individual grants have included:
£211,000 to enable Glasgow Building Preservation Trust to restore the Medieval Tron Steeple.
£750,000 (matched by European Regional Development funds) to the Trongate Public Realm improvements scheme.
£450,000 to enable the owners of the ‘A’ listed Baronial Rochead
Building to conserve the stonework detailing and original shopfronts, which has helped to changed the attitudes of local people and politicians towards the area’s historic built environment.
A number of vacant shops in the east end of Trongate, King Street and Parnie Street are being renovated, and shopfronts are being restored. This has been co-ordinated by the Merchant City Initiative with funding from Glasgow City Council. These developments will be supported by a proactive marketing campaign to attract new businesses to locate in Merchant City and more people to visit the area.
Results
A study carried out for HLF by Oxford Brookes University notes that more than £13m of public investment in the Merchant City has attracted over £62m from private-sector partners. The study estimates that 31,000 square metres of floor space was unused before the THI started and that 3,090 square metres has been brought back to use as a direct result of HLF funding.
In total 25,000 square metres of floorspace will be returned to active use, and a further 116,748 square metres of new and improved floor space will be created. It is also estimated that the scheme will create 487 jobs.
Creative industries
A number of projects, designed to encourage creative industries in Merchant City are underway and further improvements are predicted, with over £150m of private-sector-led redevelopment scheduled. The former Sheriff Courts are being restored in an ambitious conversion of the building to residential and commercial uses, and to provide a home for the Scottish Youth Theatre.
The Merchant City THI is an excellent example of a strategic approach to regeneration. The scheme is rejuvenating Merchant City and Trongate. It represents one component in a set of city-wide projects that are successfully delivering improvements to Glasgow's image and economy.