FUNDING from developers towards the Holland Street Avenue public realm project in Glasgow City Centre will mean a cycle lane can be created on Pitt Street.

Glasgow City Council has approved a £437,500 contribution made through planning policy from private developments at York Street/James Watt Street and Robertson Street/York Street.

This will be divided into £350,000 for capital work, with the remaining £87,500 to support maintenance over a 10-year period.

The scheme includes an avenue of trees along the western footway of Holland Street and wider footways throughout to create a more attractive environment for pedestrians, residents and visitors.

On-street parking will be included, meeting the demand identified through surveys. Soft landscaping will be included, incorporating drainage and creating rain gardens which will slow the flow of surface water in to the combined sewer networks.

An equivalent value already allocated to this Avenue by the from Glasgow City Region City Deal funding will now be allocated to a two-way segregated cycleway on Pitt Street which will provide a north-south cycle connection to Waterloo Street.

Work on the Holland Street Avenue will begin in the autumn of 2022, and is expected to be complete by early summer in 2024. The design process for the project is ongoing.

The area is due to undergo significant change with work underway on a housing and retail development at the former Strathclyde Police headquarters site at Pitt Street and developers finalising a long-term lease for the former High School site with a view to converting the buildings there to a hotel and events space.

The Avenues team engaged with the developers of these schemes to ensure the Holland Street Avenue will also bring the best possible benefits for these projects and the people who will live, work and visit there.

The £115million Avenues programme — the biggest of its kind in the UK — will provide a network of routes throughout the city centre that are people-focused and encourage active travel.