
'Another significant step forward' for city centre transformation
Part of the Scottish and UK Government-funded City Deal, the Avenues are being delivered across the city centre and mark the biggest physical transformation since the pedestrianisation of Buchanan Street in the 1970s.
Councillor Angus Millar, Glasgow City Council's Convenor for City Centre Recovery, said: 'The completion of the first full Avenue is a real milestone in the ongoing transformation of the city centre. And Glaswegians will see more delivered very shortly.
READ MORE:
Contract awarded for £1.72m avenues project in Glasgow
Latest Avenues work in Glasgow begins in 'key entrance point'
'Milestone' as George Square transformation contract awarded
'The Holland and Pitt Street Avenue also show how public and private investment is working together to unlock opportunities across the city centre, creating vibrant and attractive new districts.
'Right now, our city centre is going through its biggest transition in half a century. The population is increasing, new sectors are emerging, investment is flowing in and infrastructure put in place. With the Holland and Pitt Avenue, we're beginning to see how that's shaping up.'
The project was delivered with both the Scottish and UK Governments contributing £2.4million, with additional funding provided from developer contributions and Transport Scotland. Amongst the complimentary investments adding to the transformation of the area is Moda's Holland Park apartment building.
James Blakey, Moda Group Director of Planning and Engagement, said: "The completion of the Avenues project surrounding Moda, Holland Park is a significant milestone in a transformation that has created greener, more pedestrian-friendly spaces that benefit residents, businesses, and visitors alike. Moda is proud to have supported these improvements, reinforcing our commitment to investing in the city's future and working in partnership with Glasgow City Council and other stakeholders to ensure our neighbourhoods and surrounding areas continue to thrive for generations to come.'
The Glasgow City Region City Deal will see both governments provide £500 million of funding for infrastructure projects.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump tariffs land 100-year-old Stilton maker with £800k bill
Donald Trump's trade war has landed one of Britain's oldest Stilton cheese makers with an £800,000 bill. Bill Mathieson, chief executive of the 114 year-old Long Clawson Dairy, in Leicestershire, said the company would be forced to pay almost £1m in extra levies because of new US tariffs – despite Sir Keir Starmer signing a trade deal with Donald Trump. Mr Mathieson said: 'We've got about £10m of sales going into the US … you take that and we've ended up with an increase of just under £800,000. The trade deal has had no impact in terms of benefit for dairy [producers]. It's certainly not helpful.' Under the terms of Sir Keir's trade deal with the US, tariffs on British steelmakers were reduced to zero, but a 10pc levy remained on other goods including cheese such as Long Clawson's. Mr Mathieson said the company would be forced to increase the price of some of its cheese exports as a result, but that it would be unlikely it could fully recover the impact of the tariffs through price rises. However, he added: 'We might take a bit of a hit, but actually we're very positive about the opportunities that exist in the US. Our strategy will be to try and offset [tariffs] by going out and winning new business.' Founded in 1911, Long Clawson Dairy is Britain's largest producer of Stilton cheese and produces a significant amount of the world's supply. Mr Mathieson also warned that the company faces a barrage of extra costs closer to home owing to tax rises on employers brought in from April. He said: 'Just through National Insurance (NI) contributions and [a 6.7pc increase in the] National Living Wage, it impacted us to the tune of about £1.5m.' He said the company was having to raise its prices as a result. Food bosses have repeatedly warned that raising the cost of employment will fuel inflation. Food prices rose by 4.5pc in the year to June, climbing from a rate of 4.4pc in May. This was the fastest rate of food inflation since February last year. Mr Mathieson added: 'We have to pass this on, because we don't have the margins, and we don't want to be another Stilton that goes to the wall because we no longer make money in our business.' Many of Britain's Stilton makers have closed in recent years as the cheese has suffered from a lack of demand. Arla, the UK's biggest dairy company, said last year it would end production at its 244-year-old Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, if it was unable to find a buyer. Long Clawson has spent recent years battling to rejuvenate the image of Stilton and convince Gen Z shoppers of its merits, working with celebrity chefs and social media influencers. Mr Mathieson said this project was now bearing fruit and that sales of Stilton and blue cheeses were growing strongly. He added that the company was working on developing a more mild Stilton to help appeal to younger people who have not developed a taste for the intense flavour of traditional Stilton. He said: 'What we've been told is that a younger generation, they'd like something that's a bit more of an entry point into blue cheese. So we've developed a Stilton that is milder and a lot more buttery.'


Times
23 minutes ago
- Times
Minister calls doubling of Southern Water chief's bonus ‘outrageous'
The doubling of the boss of Southern Water's pay to £1.4 million has been called 'outrageous' by ministers, as questions arise about whether Labour's bonus ban is being skirted by inflated pay. Lawrence Gosden, Southern's chief executive, was awarded £691,200 under a two-year long-term incentive plan (LTIP), as well as £687,100 in fixed pay for the utility's last financial year, the company's results filed earlier this month show. Steve Reed, the environment secretary, told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: 'It's outrageous in my opinion. They are a private company and they can take their own decisions about pay. But I would really would implore them to think about how this looks to their customers.' He added: 'Trust between the water companies and their customers is at the lowest point probably ever. By paying their senior executives raises of that kind, what message are they sending to their customers?' A significant chunk of Gosden's increased pay package is a £111,400 'benefits' payment, up from £22,900 the year before. Much of that is understood to have paid for Gosden's relocation from the Thames Water region to Southern Water's patch, which includes Hampshire, Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight. Such payments are commonplace in the sector for senior leaders, industry sources said. The bonus column for Gosden's pay shows zero. That is because he was banned from taking it by the Labour government due to Southern Water causing a category one pollution incident, the most serious kind. It would have been worth £396,475 if he had been able to take it. However, most of his doubling in pay this year was due to the LTIP. The payment is not covered by the government's bonus ban, but Labour has previously counted LTIPs as bonuses when taking aim at executive pay. MPs have also raised concerns about 'retention' bonuses paid to Thames Water executives, which are not affected by the ban as it is related to performance rather than retention. Helena Dollimore, the Labour MP for Hastings and Rye, called Gosden's pay rise a 'slap in the face' given water outages faced by her constituents. Southern Water argued it is justified because it is linked to Gosden successfully delivering a company-wide 'turnaround plan'. It pointed to an 18 per cent fall in leaks this year and a fall in total pollution incidents. The LTIP is paid by shareholders, not Southern's customers, it noted. Gosden, 56, is an engineer and water industry veteran who has gradually worked his way to the top in a career spanning more than three decades. He received a first-class honours degree in engineering at the University of Brighton before starting as a contractor for Southern and then joining the company itself. He later spent 12 years at Thames Water in a series of roles, including managing director of wastewater and chief operating officer. In 2020, he rejoined Southern before he was appointed as a chief executive to turn around the company in 2022, a point when the company was struggling financially and had just been fined £90 million for a major pollution incident. Southern is challenging a decision by Ofwat, the regulator, to allow bills to rise by 53 per cent. Southern had sought to raise them by 83 per cent. Gary Carter, the national officer at GMB Union, said it was 'abhorrent' for Southern's chief executive to 'trouser more than a million pounds' after just announcing a hosepipe ban and leaks. 'It encapsulates everything that's wrong with our broken, privatised water system,' he said. A Southern Water spokesman said: 'Chief executive and chief financial officer salaries and benefits are decided by the remuneration committee, with a majority membership of independent non-executive directors, and following protocols and rules set out by Ofwat and in accordance with the law.'


BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Plans for 300 new homes in Reigate approved
Plans for a new development which includes 300 homes in a Surrey town have been approved by the local well as the homes, the site off Sandcross Lane in Reigate will have a 65-bed care facility, three traveller pitches and a scout development was approved by ten votes to one by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, despite opposition from local residents who said it was an unsuitable use of the former green belt Savills told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it would provide "much needed" family housing. Simon Buckingham, Park Lane Residents Association chairperson, said his group had objected to the plans for more than five said the development suffered from a "woeful inadequacy of local healthcare provision".Details of the layout across the 14.9 hectare site are yet to be determined - but it is expected the tallest buildings could reach up to four stories in said the homes would go a considerable way to helping the council meet its housing targets.