Cycling championships 'should prompt Glasgow clean-up'
- Published
Glasgow will host the majority of the 13 world cycling events
Glasgow must capitalise on hosting the Cycling World Championships by using it to help clean up and rejuvenate the city, according to an MSP.
Labour's Paul Sweeney says government cuts to funding have left parts of the city centre looking dirty and dilapidated.
Glasgow will host the majority of the 13 world cycling events, costing about £13m, from 3-13 August.
Council leaders reject criticisms of how the city looks.
Mr Sweeney says those who live in the city feel like they are living through managed decline.
"You need to be delusional not to recognise the challenges here," he said.
"It's obvious to anyone who has lived in Glasgow for an extended period of time that the city has seen better days.
"As someone who loves this city passionately, I'm frustrated by it."
Concerns have been raised about the amount of litter in the city centre
Paul Sweeney says Glasgow has seen better days
He added: "Let's get ourselves together and work collaboratively - to be honest about the scale of the challenges and fix it.
"There are long-term issues about repopulating this city centre - it's got half the rate of Manchester in terms of people living in the centre."
The politician is not alone in his criticism.
Recently, local journalists and business owners have taken to social media to ask what the plan is for rejuvenation.
But council leader Susan Aitken says the criticism is unfair and unfounded.
"I'm always concerned when Glaswegians feel the city is not putting on its best face but it's an area we have invested a lot in," she said.
"We have deep-clean teams who we have put in place over the past couple of years, who go around every part of the city."
Final preparations for the event are taking place in Glasgow's George Square
Asked about criticism over litter in the city centre, she says it's wrong to point the finger at Glasgow City Council.
"I don't think the city centre, as a whole, is a dirty place - I think Glasgow measures up to pretty much any city.
"But ultimately litter is caused by people and we've all got a responsibility here - it's not the council that's dropping litter."
She also says the council has doubled its budget to fix Glasgow's roads, but rejects suggestions that the route for the UCI road race is getting priority.
"I can understand why people might think that's the case but I can absolutely assure them that it is not the case," she said.
"There's a programme of resurfacing which is right across the city."