Over £21 million funding from Sustrans for the Avenues Plus project has been accepted by Glasgow City Council.

As part of the 'Places for Everyone' programme the existing Avenues scheme will be extended to connect the city centre to surrounding neighbourhoods.

The project will cover five routes on the fringes of the city centre: Cowcaddens Road (from Cambridge Street to North Hanover Street); Dobbie's Loan (from North Hanover Street to Canal Street); Duke Street (from High Street to Bellgrove Street); John Knox Street (from High Street / Castle Street to Duke Street); and South Portland Street (from Carlton Place suspension bridge to Norfolk Street).

The Avenues Plus project will complement and be delivered alongside the ongoing Glasgow City Region City Deal funded Avenues programme in the city centre, with the latter delivering 17 Avenues when complete. The Sauchiehall Avenue, completed in September 2019, is the first of these, which are so named due to their emphasis on green and active travel infrastructure, increased pedestrian space and improved connectivity/accessibility.

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The aims of Avenue Plus include the creation of a series of high-quality walking and cycling links with communities on the fringes of the city centre, featuring cycling storage hubs and programmes to encourage the use of these links, bringing health, social and environmental benefits to Glasgow. The Avenues Plus project will be delivered over a five-year period.

The origin of the Avenues Plus project lies in the recommendation of the Connectivity Commission that the Avenues programme be expanded: Glasgow City Council then submitted a funding bid to Sustrans to extend the scope of the programme to include further Avenues to provide further connections between the city centre and surrounding communities.

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "The Avenues project represents the greatest transformation of our city centre in a generation - and this funding will allow us to go further; reaching into communities that really should be considered part of that beating heart of the city. It is about a more liveable, sustainable and open centre - with environmental, social and economic benefits for those that live and work in it, as well as those who visit. It is also about a healthier city, with better opportunities to walk and cycle."

The approval by the council means that the grant funding agreement between Sustrans and the council can now be finalised.