Delay to plans to revamp iconic Glasgow walkway

lans to refurbish the ‘Smartie Tube’ tunnel over the Clydeside Expressway and redesign an M8 junction at Anderston are among City Deal projects being postponed in Glasgow.

Due to rising costs, councillors have agreed to put several schemes on hold, including some city centre street revamps proposed under the Avenues programme.

It follows a review of the city’s investment plans due to the impact of inflation on the construction sector in recent years as a result of factors such as the pandemic, Brexit and war in Ukraine.

There had been plans to provide a grant to the SEC for the refurbishment of “the tunnelled part of the ‘Smartie Tube’ and to redesign junction 19 of the M8.

Site investigations, and the development of a remediation strategy, for vacant land at Cowlairs, bounded by Saracen Street, Keppochhill Road and Carlisle Street, are also being deferred.

Delay to street projects

Several Avenues projects — which can include new cycle lanes and work to make streets more attractive — are being postponed, including projects at Hope Street, St Enoch’s Square, Glassford Street and John Street.

Overall, Glasgow City Council has an almost £386m infrastructure investment programme under the Glasgow City Region City Deal, a £1bn scheme funded by the UK and Scottish Governments.

The city does expect to get an extra £25m after the Glasgow Airport Access Project was put on hold to allow a Metro scheme to be developed. That money, which requires final agreement from both governments, would relieve some financial pressures facing scheduled schemes.

Councillors agreed to the changes, which are subject to final approval by the Glasgow City Region cabinet, at a meeting on Thursday. They also asked officials to look for alternative funding to take deferred projects forward.

Impact of inflation

Council leader Susan Aitken, SNP, said: “Unfortunately the progress that has been made to date is now being achieved at a higher cost than was originally anticipated.

“In turn that is impacting on the capacity to deliver the remainder of the City Deal infrastructure investment programme within the original grant funding allocation that was awarded to the city council.”

Since 2020, some schemes, like the Govan-Partick bridge, Sighthill bridge and Avenues work on Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street, have progressed.

But a council spokeswoman previously said inflation and global supply chain issues have caused “higher costs than originally anticipated” preventing other work from being completed within the original budget. 

The City Deal programme faced challenges during the covid pandemic when a “significant number of larger-scale construction contracts” were on site, a council report added. Extra costs, due to issues such as site closures and working with social distancing, had to be met from the existing funding allocation.

The Avenues projects being deferred are: Hope Street; St Vincent Street Phase 2 (Buchanan Street to Newton Street); Cathedral Street and Bath Street East; The Underline Phase 2 (New City Road); St Enoch’s Square – Dixon Street; Glassford Street; John Street; ‘International Financial Services District West’ – Washington Street/McAlpine Street/Carrick Street/Brown Street/Balaclava Street/Crimea Street; Elmbank Street & Elmbank Crescent.

An amendment from the city’s Green group expressed disappointment with the proposals to defer projects which support sustainable travel while schemes, across the City Region, which increase private car use, such as road widening, continue.

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