A controversial competition to redevelop Glasgow’s George Square, which could have resulted in the removal of the city’s Sir Walter Scott monument, has been dropped in the face of public opposition.
Glasgow City Council announced its £15million radical redesign would now be axed, at an estimated cost of £100,000, and the square would receive a more modest and less costly revamp. Council leader Gordon Matheson said: “The people of Glasgow have made it clear they do not want a radical redesign of the square.”
The U-turn means plans to remove the statue of Sir Walter Scott and 11 others, to make a “new George Square fit for the 21st century” ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, will no longer go ahead.
Instead, the square will now receive a “substantial facelift”, replacing the red tarmac areas.