Glasgow Harbour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glasgow Harbour is an urban regeneration scheme in the city of Glasgow, Scotland.
After many years of dereliction caused by the decline of shipbuilding and heavy industry, since the mid 1980s the banks of the River Clyde have become a focus for property developers. Mirroring the Docklands scheme in London, the old docks, and sites of old granaries, wharves and shipyards in Glasgow are being redeveloped into up market residential apartments, office complexes and leisure facilities.
The earliest developments were the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in 1986, and the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988, which demonstrated the potential of the riverside area as a catalyst for urban regeneration. Through the 1990s, riverside apartment buildings began to appear, and the Norman Foster-designed Clyde Auditorium was opened in 1997. This was built upon at the turn of the century by the Glasgow Science Centre and Glasgow Tower (the spiritual successor to the Clydesdale Bank tower which was part of the Garden Festival).
Phase 2 of the Glasgow Harbour project has been the most ambitious yet, with a new headquarters for BBC Scotland forming the cornerstone of a new "media village". There are also new high-rise apartment towers proposed for the area, something which has sparked controversy given Glasgow's infamous tower block building boom of the 1960s, some of the developments being compared unfavourable to the notorious Red Road flats in the city's north side.
In September 2006, the Clyde Arc road bridge opened to traffic, enhancing access to the South Bank.
Transport links will also be a key feature of Glasgow Harbour, with a pre-light rail metro system planned which will link the area to the city centre areas, with possible interchanges to the Subway.
The site will also be the new home of the Glasgow Museum of Transport, to be called the Riverside Museum.
