It has been interesting to distil my thoughts on the future of Glasgow, as The Herald has in the last week focused on this important topic in a major series.

I write a great deal about business and the economy in and around Glasgow, throughout Scotland and the UK, and overseas, covering big stories, and producing analysis and opinion articles, and have done so for many years.

My contribution to The Future of Glasgow series in The Herald and Glasgow Times last week provided the opportunity to reflect on how the city has developed over recent decades.

And it struck me, amid all the particular difficulties Glasgow has faced on top of the effect of the dismal UK economic backdrop that has prevailed pretty much ever since the global financial crisis, there is plenty to be positive about when it comes to the city and surrounding region.

Read more

Of course, there are also major challenges but it was interesting to take stock of how much has been achieved, and consider the scale of development that has occurred over recent decades in the city centre and on the south bank of the River Clyde.

Weighing the evolution of Glasgow over recent decades in an article in The Herald on Thursday, I wrote: “Mention Glasgow city centre and many people’s minds will turn to Sauchiehall Street, and the recent troubles of a shopping thoroughfare that looks so far from its heyday.

Read more

© Herald Scotland