“The city for too long has turned its back on the Clyde,” says Brian Lavette from regeneration company Peel Waters.
Along the Clyde’s riverside, deserted walkways and quiet docks overlook the water. It is difficult to imagine that merely 200 years ago, this same area was once a thriving hub of British shipbuilding and constantly busy, with horse carriages and large crowds making their way across the river’s arched bridges. Though the Clyde cannot be fully brought back to its former glory, waterside regeneration company Peel Waters aims to transform the area into a modern cultural hub while honouring its history.
Peel Waters has projects in post-industrial cities across the UK, such as Glasgow Waters, Liverpool Waters and Manchester Waters. In July, plans were solidified for homes at Glasgow Clyde’s Yorkhill Quay, which will include co-living schemes, hotels, and private residential areas. Earlier this year, infrastructure works began in the neighbourhood and the nearby areas.
The Glasgow Guardian spoke to Brian Lavette, property director for the Scotland branch of Peel Waters, about what they have planned for the future of the River Clyde.
“Regenerating those sites is within the DNA of the business,” says Brian. “For Glasgow, it’s all about opening up access to the Clyde again. The city for too long has turned its back on the Clyde.”
Glasgow Waters will be building a new riverside walkway to make the area into a more accessible public space. The walkway will connect the Riverside Museum to the Distillery. They will be incorporating the original 19th-century cobblestones and bollards where possible, though Brian notes that because the cobblestones are not as flat as modern paving, they cannot be put down everywhere, in order to make space for bicycles and wheelchairs. There will be a feature of historic cobblestones in Yorkhill Quay running along the edge of the river, and the bollards will also be featured, displaying some shipbuilding history.
“It’s really important when you’re renewing these areas to keep a little nod to the past and sort of anchor the development and the history. Obviously, the buildings are changing, the areas are changing, but we still want to make sure that they are grounded in the past.”
Some current examples of historical conservation led by Glasgow Waters include the Clydeside Distillery and the Riverside Museum, both of which help generate tourism in the area. In the future, Glasgow Waters will be developing the sugar sheds in Greenock, keeping the outside of the building intact but renovating the inside.
Glasgow Waters makes sure to celebrate the Clyde’s history while upholding sustainable values; they have planted around 50 trees near the Riverside Museum car park, and have installed insect hotels and bee-friendly wildflowers to encourage wildlife to grow in the area. They are in talks with FirstBus to increase the bus services and encourage public transport usage.
Projects along the Clyde started in 1999 and were taken over by the Peel Group in the early 2000s. They put in a new junction at Glasgow Harbour and a pedestrian crossing along the expressway. Glasgow City Council was more involved in those early stages, but now they are “in the background”. Peel invested about 30 million pounds to open up the site and to improve access for the wider area. The initial housing at Glasgow Harbour, including Glasgow Harbour Terraces, started construction around 2003 and started to be occupied in 2005 and 2006. The first three phases of the project were occupied and sold out, but later stages were affected during the market crash in 2008. At the time, they were already committed to the project, so it was finished in 2010-2011, but they struggled to sell many flats. The final phase was only just completed a year and a half ago, which is a build-to-rent. Now, their main focus is the Yorkhill Quay area.
“The original master plan has been revised a number of times and things have moved, just as you would expect to happen over 20 years. The market changes, trends change, and you sort of have to move with that,” mentions Brian.
There used to be plans to build a casino and office blocks on Yorkhill Quay, but there is no longer a high demand for edge-of-city offices— people either work in the city centre or out of town. The mega casino is no longer in the works either, due to changes in public perception of gambling and loss of interest. Planning consent was given to build high-end retail outlets with designer stores and restaurants in Castlebank Quay. COVID-19 hit before they could start construction, and Brian remarks that they “were probably kind of lucky they hadn’t started” the project, because outlets have been outperforming in recent years.
Plans are underway for a collaboration with Therme Group to build an indoor water park, thermal pools and spa, and a health and wellbeing centre near the Riverside Museum. The current phase of the project is Yorkhill Quay, where the infrastructure projects are happening at the moment, and Castlebank Quay, where they built a private student accommodation in 2019 constructed next to a historic building.
Though the plans for Yorkhill Quay started being developed seven years ago, this was a long process, as it involved both pre-planning and planning, and finally getting consent. They have just recently been granted master plan consent for five phases of development.
“What will be delivered there will depend on the market, but we are on site just now doing the infrastructure works, so the surface water drains, power and water, et cetera,” Brian says.
There have been some setbacks with investors. “Currently, interest rates are a little bit high, the government gilts are a little bit high; if you can get five percent from the government for not doing anything, why would you want to risk your money in a risky construction project that is still not complete?”
Brian hopes that as the economy improves, investors will be more motivated to support the projects. He is confident that as soon as they go to the market, Glasgow Waters will be attractive to buyers and the process will run more smoothly. Brian estimates that it will be around six months to a year before the project is on the market, and then it should be completed in approximately five years.
The phases of the current project will include co-living spaces, build-to-rent residences, a hotel, and public areas. There are currently no plans for more student residences, as they are not in high demand in the market, according to Brian.
Glasgow City Council has declared a housing emergency; the city is in need of practical and affordable housing. Peel Waters has consent for 1100 residential units, and Brian mentions that he expects that they will provide more, which will contribute to improving Glasgow’s housing crisis. There will also be around 500 rooms in co-living, which is an affordable option aimed at postgraduate people in the first stages of their career, and offers shared services and accommodation. Build-to-rent will offer the majority of living spaces.
Although it will be a few years until the projects are finalised, there is a lot to look forward to. Glasgow Waters will ensure that the River Clyde becomes a central area for the Glasgow community, keeping in mind the ever-changing demands of the market and citizens, while paying respect to the city’s historical legacy.
Image credits: Phil Reid on Unsplash
