Bruce Report

The Bruce Report is the name commonly given to two urban redevelopment reports of the Glasgow Corporation (the former local authority area for the city).

Both reports were authored by a Glasgow Corporation Engineer of the time Robert Bruce lending them their collective name. The name encompasses the "First Planning Report", which was published in the closing stages of the Second World War (March of 1945) and the "Clyde Valley Regional Plan". These reports recommended a series of initiatives designed to transform the city over the following fifty years. Some of these initiatives were put into practice, some were not. The reports and their implementation significantly shaped modern day Glasgow, a good example of the scope of their impact being the M8 motorway which was built following proposals in the report. During the mid 20th century much of the city's population were resettled to new towns and housing schemes also following recommendations in Bruce's reports. The civic, economic, political, architectural, geographic and demographic landscape of modern Glasgow would have been radically different without the influence of these two reports. Had the Bruce Report been implemented in its entirety, the city would probably have been unrecognisable.

City centre

Central to the report's recommendations were a set of radical proposals which amounted to wholesale demolition of a large section of the city centre. These would have involved knocking down many historic and architecturaly important Victorian and Georgian buildings. The report advocated rebuilding most of the city centre to a single design with the aim of creating a coherently planned city. Among the buildings earmarked for demolition were many which are now regarded as Glasgow's most significant architectural assets. Bruce's proposals called for the demolition of (amongst others) Glasgow Central Station, The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow School of Art, designed by the renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow City Chambers which is considered the civic heart of the city. Robert Bruce's justification for these radical proposals was the creation of a new "healthy and beautiful city" based on formal 1950s architecture. Ultimately less draconian measures were sought for the regeneration of the city centre.

Rehousing Glasgow's slum population

One proposal in the report was implemented almost in its entirety: the demolition of Glasgow's slum housing. Bruce suggested that many of Glasgow's residential areas be torn down, as a great many of these unplanned developments had become slums. He proposed that their inhabitants be rehoused in new developments on the periphery of the city. The key goals of this proposal was the creation of a less densely populated city and a greater quality of life for its inhabitants. Beginning in the 1950s Glasgow's clearance programme relocated some 750,000 of the city's population. New towns, such as East Kilbride and Cumbernauld were created in the areas surrounding the city as part of this redevelopment. The programme also involved the creation of new urban housing schemes such as Castlemilk, Drumchapel and Easterhouse, all of which are on the edges of the city.

As with most other aspects of the city's redevelopment, the housing clearances were not carried out exactly to Bruce's proposed plan. Bruce wanted all of Glasgow's citizens to be rehoused within the city boundaries. In building the new towns, a significant portion of the city's population were moved outwith the jurisdiction of the Glasgow Corporation. This results in a dramatic (arguably artificial) reduction in the city's population between the start of the 20th and 21st centuries. This is accounted for by the fact that the urban spread of Glasgow now covers a much larger area, indicating that Bruce's underlying aim of a city less densely populated was achieved. At its peak in the 1930s Glasgow's inner city population was 1.1 million. Glasgow's inner city population is roughly 600,000 today, Glasgow remains Scotland's largest city the population of Greater Glasgow is close to 1,800,000 and the entire Greater Glasgow conurbation is now 2.3 million. 44% of Scotland's entire population.

The success of the other key goal of the slum clearances (improving quality of life for Glasgow's citizens) is harder to quantify, however it is worth noting that many of the housing schemes and new towns created at this time remain among the most deprived communities in Scotland. As with other mid-20th century urban regeneration "grand schemes" Glasgow's regeneration arguably lost sight of the real needs of its populace.

Transport

The scope of Bruce's proposals was not limited to housing reform, Glasgow's transport infrastructure was also a target for change.

Roads

Bruce proposed the creation of a system of arterial motorways into the city converging to form a Glasgow Inner Ring Road. The proposed network included a Renfrew motorway, a Monklands motorway, a Maryhill motorway, and a south eastern motorway connecting Glasgow with the wider motorway network. These proposals were not acted on until the 1960s when the initiative began as a sweeping programme of clearing and construction. The Monklands and Renfrew motorways were completed forming what is now known as the M8. These two motorways form the northern and western flanks of the planned ring road. However carving a motorway through long standing communities (demolishing them in the process) caused such protest that the rest of the Inner Ring Road initiative was shelved.

There are current plans to extend the M74 into the city centre to meet the M8 motorway. This would see the completion of another section of Bruce's planned ring road, albeit on a marginally different route than originally proposed. His initial plan called for the utilisation of part of Glasgow Green for this part of the ring road project. This route is not currently planned for the proposed M74 extension into Glasgow, which will pass instead through the Gorbals and Govanhill areas of the city.

Bruce's report recommended that the Eastern flank of the Inner Ring Road be constructed along the route of Glasgow's High Street. Again this would have necessitated the demolition of many properties, including some of historic and/or architectural value. It was shelved in the face of strong local opposition. The present day City of Glasgow council are considering proposals known as the Glasgow East End Regeneration Route. This plan proposes a road (not a motorway) which would link the M74 to the M8 through the East End of Glasgow. If successfully implemented this plan together with the M74 extension would effectively see Bruce's planned inner ring completed.

There are no signs that the Bruce Plan's proposed Maryhill motorway will ever be implemented in any way. Bruce's proposals for a ring road with four arterial routes running off it seems unlikely to ever be fully realised.

Rail

As well as recommending changes to Glasgow's road network, Bruce also suggested radical changes to Glasgow's railways. At the time of the Bruce Report, the city had four major railway stations. Central and St Enoch both served primarily southbound destinations. Queen Street and Buchanan Street mainly served northbound destinations.

In order to rationalise the city's mainline services, Bruce suggested that all four Victorian train stations be demolished and replaced with two new purpose built stations. A new "Glasgow North" station was proposed roughly on the site of Buchanan Street station (occupying a larger area) to replace Buchanan Street and Queen Street stations. A "Glasgow South" station was proposed on the approximate site of Glasgow Central station to replace Central and St Enoch stations. Bruce's plan then called for a new bus station on the Queen Street site, with the "low level" railway station there remaining to provide suburban services and to connect the new bus station to the rail network.

These plans were never implemented, and all four stations remained until the 1960s when the Beeching Axe reforms changed the shape of rail services across the United Kingdom. Beeching's reforms spelt the end for both Buchanan Street and St Enoch stations which closed, effectively rationalising rail services in the city along similar lines to Bruce's two station plan, but without requiring the demolition of four stations and construction of two new ones. Beeching's reforms also removed low level services from Glasgow Central station, but these were reintroduced in the late 1970s. Glasgow Central has recently undergone extensive, careful and sympathetic renovation and remains one of the city's architectural assets to this day.

21st century perspectives and the Bruce Report

With hind sight, many of the suggestions in the Bruce report might seem draconian or even idiotic. From a contemporary perspective many find it hard to imagine advocating the wholesale demolition of so much of the city. Or how so many buildings we now recognise as significant and beautiful could have been earmarked for destruction.

Feelings about the Bruce Report still run high today: Some argue the primary motivation was saving money for the Scotland Office and the British government, though it is hard to reconcile this with such a sweeping and expensive plan: If cost savings were genuinely the goal, expensive demolition and regeneration schemes seem unlikely, the city would more likely have simply been left to rot.

Seen within the context of its time it seems likely that the report was genuinely motivated by a desire to improve the city. Architectural tastes in the early 20th century did not recognise the merits of (then relatively recently outmoded) Edwardian and Victorian buildings, seeing them simply as old and outmoded in much the same way as contemporary tastes often view mid 20th century architecture. The post-war drive toward a modern, clean and socially responsible Britain resulted in many sweeping schemes such as the Bruce Report. Most of these had mixed success and failure, partly because of flawed inception and partly through incomplete execution.

Imagining a Glasgow either without the Bruce Report, or having followed it to the letter, conjures two images very different from both each other and the vibrant modern city Glasgow is today. Those parts of the plan which were implemented can be argued to have contributed in equal measure to the strengths and the short comings of Glasgow today.

External links

* [http://www.bestlaidschemes.com/ Best Laid Schemes]
* [http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSE00885 The Glasgow Story]
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/681571/index.html Screen Online]