Here’s a corner of Glasgow that tells the city’s story. Over there is a patch of ground where the supermarkets and showrooms used to be. Down the road is a cluster of hotels and restaurants, offspring of the Hydro arena. Further on is where hipster men make their way to hipster pubs with hipster bags over their hipster shoulders. And in front of us: rubble, and the promise of something new.

The corner in question is where Argyle Street meets Finnieston Street, not the bonniest part of the city to be honest but one where there’s been a lot of change, some good, some bad. In the 90s, I used to live round here (rent: 300 quid a month would you believe) but that was before it was cool. Since then, there’s been development and churn and it’s still happening, not always with the support of the local people.

The site right on the corner, where the police station once stood, is a typical example. The station, an ugly concrete thing, was in use until 2018 but it was sold to developers who pulled it down and now plan to put up a six-storey block of flats, with 62 flats above and six retail units below. I’ve seen the designs and it’s meh. Nothing about it reflects the look and feel of the city or is particularly Glasgow; it’s the sort of building that could be anywhere and everywhere and is.

But it gets worse, because at the front of the site is all that remains of the old hornbeam tree that once stood by the police station. There aren’t a lot of trees in Anderston and Finnieston – this part of the Dear Green Place is not its greenest – but the hornbeam was one of the most noticeable and finest survivors. The best estimate is that it and me were about the same age (50 plus) and it did what trees........

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