Funding jigsaw secured for project’s first phase

THE first phase of a regeneration scheme in the south-west of Glasgow is expected to soon get underway, with the last piece of a financial package now agreed.

Glasgow City Council members earlier today agreed to providing £1.6m, towards the cost of constructing ‘public realm’ works and creating commercial floorspace in the Govan district of the city.

The first phase of what’s been named the ‘Water Row’ project – on the banks of the River Clyde – will see local housing association, Govan Housing Association, build 92 ‘mid-market’ rented homes and six ground floor commercial units, as a precursor towards a completed project envisaging 200 new homes and 3,500 square metres of commercial space.

The £1.6m has been secured from the Glasgow City Region City Deal (here), which is a £1bn investment programme being funded by the Scottish and UK governments, for infrastructure projects over the next 20 years.

Says a council announcement, here: “The main contract works for this first phase have been tendered by Govan Housing Association, resulting in total project costs of £24,682,765, and, despite assembling a funding package of more than £23million from various sources, a funding gap of just over £1.6million needed to be addressed before a contract can be awarded.”

It adds: “Water Row has been identified as an investment priority for the Glasgow City Region City Deal and the delivery of the masterplan is regarded as critical to the regeneration of Central Govan, which occupies a strategically-important location at the centre of the emerging Glasgow Riverside Innovation District. Today’s decision by the council secures funding for the first phase of the masterplan.”

Picture credit: Govan Housing Association