Glasgow City Council has announced plans to build 25,000 new homes by 2025 as part of a pledge to create 50,000 new jobs and an additional 1000 new businesses across the city.

The new Glasgow Economic Strategy 2016-2023, unveiled last week by council leader Councillor Frank McAveety, at the 19th annual State of the City Economy Conference, also outlined moves to increase the number of people living in the city centre through a review of the council’s urban planning policy.

The local authority will also call on the Scottish Government to reinstate the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund, enabling cities to bring land back to sustainable use.

The strategy’s vision is to implement the Glasgow Housing Strategy and work closely with the development industry to create attractive housing market opportunities, de-risk development activity and ensure that people have access to the means to buy and rent Glasgow’s homes.

So far the council has invested over £1 billion since 2003 to rebuild or refurbish 15,000 homes in the city, worked in partnership with the Scottish Government and Glasgow Housing Association to regenerate communities across the city through the Transformational Regeneration Areas programme and has developed the strategy required to deliver 25,000 new homes by 2025.

Other strategy pledges include plans to completely transform Sighthill, with £250m of investment creating new homes, a new school, a new pedestrian bridge improving connectivity across the M8 motorway and a new road bridge linking the area to the north and west of the city.

Councillor McAveety said: “We aim to make the next seven years the biggest jobs bonanza in Glasgow’s history. We know that the 50,000 target is ambitious but we have done the sums and they add up.

“We plan to deliver 50,000 jobs across all of the city’s employment sectors, from tourism to high tech, from renewables to health and life sciences. This strategy is the most ambitious on record and rightly so because Glasgow is open for business”

The theme for this year’s conference is Glasgow is Open for Business. The city recently launched a major Brexit report and the launch of the new economic strategy offers a clear direction on how Glasgow will meet the challenges of leaving the European Union.

Cllr McAveety said: “Glasgow has always faced up to challenges in the past and we will face up to any new challenges that Brexit may pose.”