Earlier this year the GSA board gave its agreement in principle to work with the local authority to enable the Underline Avenue to be delivered. Land at the former Stow College site - now owned by GSA - will deliver the most direct and continuous route for the Underline Avenue, which is part of the £115 million Avenues programme jointly funded by the Scottish and UK Governments through the Glasgow City Region City Deal.

The Underline Avenue will see improvements along Cambridge Street all the way to St Georges Road, passing Cowcaddens subway and New City Road to allow a direct pedestrian and cyclist link between the city centre and the West End, with environmental improvements a key feature of the new Avenue.

Work on the Underline Avenue is proposed to begin in January 2022, with completion in the summer of 2023.

The 25-year lease for this 524 sq m site is expected to have an annual cost of £1 to Glasgow City Council. The site is key to the delivery of the most direct and continuous route for the Underline Avenue.

Councillor Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council and chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet, said: “A core benefit of the Avenues programme is how it will improve connections across the city centre, with the Underline transforming how people can travel to and from the city centre and the West End. This is the next step in the delivery of the Underline, which will create a far more attractive environment for everyone who uses this route or lives, studies or works on it.”

Penny Macbeth, director of The Glasgow School of Art, said: “Connectivity and sustainability are now widely recognised as central to making cities vibrant and attractive places in which to live, work and study. It is incredibly important for the GSA to be able to work in partnership with Glasgow City Council, helping deliver their strategies and realise some of their major projects which benefit the whole city. We are delighted to be able to work together on the Underline.”