30 Jul 2025
A project to improve the look and feel of Glasgow city centre - the Glasgow City Centre Improvement Grant Fund - is bringing real benefits across the area, including a first for a Scottish charity, with more on the way.
The City Centre Improvement Grant Fund will provide awards of up to £20,000 to businesses and organisations who meet the criteria, and is split into two streams, Meanwhile Use and the Minor Improvement Grant. The initial funding allocation of £200,000 for each stream has been increased, and more applications are invited. The Minor Improvements grant fund has already committed its initial funding, illustrating its success.
The Meanwhile Use stream aims to help businesses and organisations activate ground-floor, vacant units in the city centre on a short-term basis. It will target key areas to provide vacant ground floor properties with new uses such as pop-up shops, short-term leases and third sector occupation. It is also hoped that recent regulatory changes which have reduced Empty Property Relief may encourage owners to look for these types of uses and apply to the Meanwhile Use fund.
This is open to independent businesses and other organisations, while owners with vacant/underused properties can apply for the grant to help them bring their properties up to the required standard for occupation ready for new businesses.
The Meanwhile Use Fund creates an opportunity to both improve the range and mix of businesses operating in the city centre and to reactivate areas impacted by changes to retail habits and office demand. The fund aims to deliver temporary new uses across the city centre, reactivate vacant ground floor properties, reduce the number of vacant units. Discussions about the potential use of multiple units through this fund are continuing.
The first project to be delivered through the Meanwhile Use Fund will see a first in Scotland - the creation of a book shop and café for Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland at a previously empty unit at the Tontine Building at 16 Trongate. This will be the charity’s first dedicated bookstore when it opens in October and will help regenerate this part of the city centre as well as creating three new jobs and offer volunteering opportunities.
Billy Farrell, Director of Income Generation at Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, said: “This funding from Glasgow City Council will help us to open our first-ever dedicated bookshop, providing a new income stream to support people with chest, heart, stroke and Long Covid conditions live life to the full. We are delighted to work with the council to expand our reach into this part of Glasgow and play our part in the regeneration of the city centre by bringing new life to this unit on Trongate.”
Councillor Angus Millar, Convener for City Centre Recovery at Glasgow City Council, said: “This project is bringing real improvement to the look and feel of the city centre. It is great to see the first projects to receive support from the City Centre Improvement Grant Fund identified and improvements carried out, and I look forward to the positive changes and economic social benefits that this work will deliver for the area - and Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland’s first bookstore is a great example of that. I would encourage any businesses and organisations with proposals that could be delivered through this Fund to apply.”
The Minor Improvement Fund is open to all city centre stakeholders and is focused on enhancing the area’s look and feel, improving footfall and supporting the aspirations of the City Centre Strategy to increase its residential population and attract more visitors.
This grant fund will support community groups, social enterprises and businesses to deliver interventions such as minor repair works such as improving shop front and community amenities, small scale greening/public space improvements, or measures to alleviate anti-social behaviour and reduce blight. It will not support hard infrastructure projects.
Under the Minor Improvement Fund, among the projects identified so far is the repair of broken signage at St George’s Tron Parish Church, which will assist with antisocial behaviour as the sign is used as wayfinding by the police and others to assist those in need after nights out. The Church provides assistance for those that need help after a night out, and the signage is used to identify where to get help.
Another project will deliver shopfront improvement and repairs at Trongate, reducing blight on a key city centre street through the removal of graffiti and vegetation, and another is at the Tron Theatre, where roll shutters will be installed to prevent anti-social behaviour from occurring in recessed areas attached to the building. The new roller shutters will have murals painted on them to improve the look and feel of the area and reduce blight. Local businesses have signalled their support for this project and feel that it will help to increase footfall to this part of the city centre.
Grants will be issued as valid applications are received, and the council is currently considering a number of new applications.
A spokesperson for St George’s Tron Parish Church said: "Our project to replace the signage at St. George’s Tron Parish Church aims to enhance the church’s visibility and accessibility, strengthening its role in Glasgow’s city centre. The new signage will serve as a clear and welcoming guide for everyone - whether they are attending Sunday services, visiting the Wild Olive Tree café, seeking support at the safe zone run by Glasgow Street Pastors, or attending one of the many events hosted at the church throughout the year."
William Bosell, owner of Bo Peep’s, said: “We are delighted to have been supported by the Glasgow City Centre Improvement Fund to undertake much needed improvements to the outside of our store on Trongate. Our loyal customers are clear in that they prefer the physical shopping experience and opportunity to connect and engage, bucking the trend for on-line shopping, and we aim to continue to provide an excellent physical shopping experience for decades to come. The funding will support external improvements including new signage as we aim to attract a higher footfall through more appealing shop surroundings and look and feel of the area, and - from a business perspective - we want to create a positive lasting impression with people more likely to return.”
Other projects to successfully apply to the Minor Improvement Fund include: Friends of Glasgow Royal Infirmary - implementation of Royal Bee Trail to increase footfall to the Cathedral district, reducing anti-social behaviour, and repair and refurbishment of the sentry box; Renfield Lane - graffiti removal, cleansing, painting exterior, and bollard replacement; Civic Engineers - implementation of rain garden at Virginia Court to create a usable green space for the general public to use, and will also be used for educational purposes with links to the University of Strathclyde; Aproxima Cathedral - renovation of the Glasgow Cathedral well to draw footfall to the local area and improve the walking trail, bringing people to the local area, and ties in with Glasgow 850 celebrations; Buccleuch Lane and Dalhousie Lane – mitigating blight, implementation of small-scale greening and preventing anti-social behaviour.
Those with proposals who wish to apply should visit:
Applications are expected until April 2026 or funding is fully committed.
