The Argyle Street Gap – what does it say about Glasgow?

The Herald Scotland

26-05-2025

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 do in cities: softened the edges, offered shade from the sun and shelter from the rain, and attracted the loyalty of the locals.
If you doubt the loyalty we can feel to trees, remember the protests and arrests in Sheffield when the council started felling thousands of trees as part of its 'street improvement'. And remember Plymouth where there was opposition to the destruction of 100 trees in the city centre and the council sneaked in overnight and chopped them down anyway. And remember the horror and upset people felt when the Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall was chain-sawed; that one was personal, that one really hurt.
The reason we feel this way is that trees are often the only green in the place where we live and so start to take on a kind of personality. The Hadrian's Wall sycamore was one of the A-listers – star of posters, postcards and movies – which was why its destruction was particularly shocking, but the folk who live near the Finnieston hornbeam felt the same way about their tree. All that's left now though, after the developers cut it down the other day, is a stump and a gap on Argyle Street where it used to be – a gap that raises questions about what the city is doing to its trees.
To be fair to the council, it has addressed the issue of trees to some extent and in 2024 adopted a strategy which aims to increase the number of trees in the city over the next ten years. They've also made a start here and there, planting some 20,000 trees including on the Cathkin Braes in Castlemilk, Tollcross Park and other places. The locations are good choices because we know it's the most deprived parts of the city that have the least trees and we know it's why we started to hear that most terrible of all newspaper cliches: leafy suburbs.
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But what's happened on Argyle Street, at the site of the old police station, highlights what else needs to change. I don't want to exaggerate the importance of one tree – it's outnumbered by all the others that have been planted in the city – but mature trees in particular matter. They help combat air pollution, they help reduce the impact of rain and floods, a real issue in Glasgow, and they help reduce the 'Urban Heat Island' effect: they cool the city down effectively. As the Finnieston hornbeam demonstrated, they also become part of the shape and feel of a community; we start to love them.
But what tends to happen is that developers apply to cut down mature trees that are in their way and, as a sop, promise to plant saplings, which is exactly what's happened with the Finnieston development. The developers have said they might plant five saplings along Argyle Street but they've also said it's subject to agreement with the roads authority and final approval so I'll believe it when I see it. The saplings which developers plant also tend to be much smaller, easier-to-control species so even when they're fully grown, they are no replacement for much bigger, more mature trees.
Why this happens is that mature trees are a pain in the butt for developers who just want to get their buildings up fast and cheap. The roots of mature trees can cause a problem with pipework and other infrastructure so it needs careful planning to build round them, which costs money. Easier and cheaper to chop the old trees down: problem solved and no extra cost.
The tree before it was taken down (Image: Free)
But Glasgow could learn a thing or two from Bristol for example where the planning policy directs that buildings should work around existing mature trees. A more enlightened planning policy would also require developers who've made the case for a tree to be removed to move it to another site, or allow time for cuttings to be taken. Some of the locals in Finnieston wanted to do this with their hornbeam, but it doesn't look like it happened.
The developers and builders who are desperate to get rid of old trees should also think about this: yes, it might cost more and yes, mature trees will require more maintenance and attention. But retaining old trees can enhance the value of the end product. Basically, people will pay more to live in a pleasant place that's surrounded by mature trees. In other words, trees can boost your profit rather than dent it.
It's all too late for the Finnieston hornbeam of course; all that's left of it is a stump in front of a pile of rubble. But there is still time for the council to look again at its tree strategy and consider not just new trees but the old ones too. There's nothing quite as sad, I think, as the sight of what's left of a tree that's taken 50, 100, or 150 years to grow. It's what made the destruction of the Hadrian's Wall sycamore so savage and so brutal, and on a corner of Argyle Street and Finnieston Street you can see and feel the same thing. Let's try and learn from it then. Let's try and do it differently next time.