Clyde Waterfront is a 20 km stretch of the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, running east–west from

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History I ...

in the heart of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, to

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

on the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

. With over 200 projects on both sides of the Clyde, this is one of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

's largest

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blig ...

projects. Throughout the Clyde Waterfront area, projects are in place to transform business, housing, tourism and the infrastructure of the area. , the total anticipated investment in Clyde Waterfront from public and private money was estimated at £5-6 billion. As well as supporting inward investment and tourism, the aim of the regeneration of the Clyde is to benefit local communities. It is intended that local people will benefit from the improvements to transport and leisure facilities, shops and businesses, and from new jobs coming into the area. An estimated 50,000 new jobs will be created as businesses relocate in the area and more housing is built. Re-training is vital and a range of support is available locally to make sure residents can exploit the new opportunities as they arise. Clyde Waterfront, the group which co-ordinates and promotes the regeneration, is a partnership between the Scottish Government,

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...

and the local authorities of Glasgow,

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter tow ...

and

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renf ...

Projects

Commercial and residential

In Glasgow city centre, the International Financial Services District (IFSD) has been set up to attract new financial companies to the city. The IFSD, a joint partnership led by

and

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the ...

, has created almost two million square feet of new Grade ‘A’ office accommodation in the centre of the city. Since the launch of the project in 2001, over 15,000 new jobs have moved into the area, and over £1 billion has been invested.

Braehead Braehead ( sco, Braeheid, Gaelic: ''Ceann a' Bhruthaich'') is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable fo ...

, on the south side of the river at

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the House of Stewart, Royal Stewarts" ...

, includes a large

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

and new businesses continue to move into the area. Business parks are growing, the town of Renfrew is being regenerated, and a number of leading house builders are creating 2,000 new homes at Ferry Village, close to the Xscape leisure development. Glasgow's

Digital Media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...

Quarter at

Pacific Quay Pacific Quay is an area south of the River Clyde in Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th larges ...

is now home to the headquarters of

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. ...

, with three major studio spaces, including "Studio A", the largest television studio outside

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The nearby Medius and Hub buildings, provide further opportunities for Scotland's digital media industries. Back on the north side of the river, the first phase of the £1.2 billion residential development at

Glasgow Harbour Glasgow Harbour is an urban regeneration scheme at Partick in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Construction After many years of dereliction caused by the decline of shipbuilding and the migration of Glasgow's docks to the Firth ...

is almost entirely sold out. The second phase of housing, GH20, will provide a further 800 apartments, with many already sold and occupied. Down the river at

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling and Milton beyond) to the west, and the Yoker and Drumchapel ...

, students at Clydebank College started the 2007/08 academic year in brand new purpose-built accommodation overlooking the river. Forty years ago the John Brown Shipyards were the site for the construction of the '' QE2''. Now the area at Queens Quay has been transformed into a college campus, with adjacent business park accommodation.

Transport

Major transport infrastructure is essential to ensure that the whole area is properly connected, and a number of vital projects are underway. For example, the

Clyde Arc The Clyde Arc (known locally as the Squinty Bridge) is a road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, connecting Finnieston near the Clyde Auditorium and SEC with Pacific Quay and Glasgow Science Centre in Govan. Prominent feat ...

, also known as the "Squinty Bridge", was opened, the first road bridge to be built across the Clyde in Glasgow for almost 40 years. The bridge provides an important link between the West End of Glasgow and the Digital Media Quarter at Pacific Quay, and on into

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ...

. A pedestrian bridge known as the Tradeston Bridge, was opened in 2009 to link Glasgow's IFSD on the north bank with the emerging developments of the south bank at Tradeston. Renfrewshire Council are proposing a new road bridge to be built between

and Yoker. The site of the bridge would be at

Renfrew Ferry The Renfrew Ferry is a passenger ferry service linking the north and south banks of the River Clyde in Scotland. The service, operated by Clydelink without subsidy, crosses between Renfrew and Yoker, close to Glasgow City Centre and is the la ...

. If built, the structure would more than likely replace the ferry service. As the Clyde is still an important area for shipping and is still used for ship building, a moveable bridge structure would have to be built to let vessels pass up and down the river. Initial estimates for construction are £50m. If given the go-ahead, construction would start in 2018-19.

Culture and leisure

With the announcement that the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

will be held in Glasgow in 2014, further developments are underway. A proposed stadium, Scotland's National Arena, will be a 12,500-seat arena at SECC. It will sustain 1,400 jobs and continue to attract visitors to the city long after the Games are over. Further hotel accommodation is also required to handle the growth in tourism that is anticipated for the city and there is a commitment to complete key transport infrastructure projects in the area in time for the Games. Work was completed on the Riverside Museum project in 2011. Architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

has designed a landmark building which will house Glasgow's transport collection.

Other Clyde Waterfront Regeneration projects

File:Riverside museum from front.jpeg,

Transport Museum A transport museum is a museum that holds collections of transport items, which are often limited to land transport (road and rail)—including old cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, trams/streetcars, buses, trolleybuses and coaches—but can als ...

File:GlasgowHarbour.jpg,

File:Glasgow Science Centre and Tower.jpg,

Glasgow Science Centre Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located in the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration area on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II opened Glasgow Science Centre on 5 July 2001. It is one of Scotland's ...

Glasgow Tower Glasgow Tower (formerly known as the Millennium Tower) is a 127 metres (417 ft) free-standing landmark observation tower located on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and is part of the Glasgow Science Centre complex. ...

and IMAX cinema File:BBC Scotland building - geograph.org.uk - 909312.jpg, BBC Pacific Quay File:New STV headquarters, Glasgow - geograph.org.uk - 693464.jpg, STV File:Braehead shopping centre - geograph.org.uk - 670942.jpg,

File:Wfm daily record.jpg, Daily Record File:Forestry commission sign.jpeg, Boden Boo nature reserve at

Erskine Erskine (, sco, Erskin, gd, Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the ...

References

External links

Clyde Waterfront website

Clyde Waterfront Heritage website

Scottish National Arena, SECC website

2014 Commonwealth Games Venues
{{authority control Glasgow Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Scotland Glasgow Green River Clyde Partick Govan