New hilltop housing site ready for work to start
WORK is soon to start on hundreds of new homes on a new hilltop village overlooking Glasgow city centre. Ground preparations have been completed at Dundashill site near the Forth and Clyde Canal at Spiers Wharf.
The homes will be built on the site of the old Diageo distillery, part of several regeneration projects to bring new homes and new communities to the north of the city.
A total of 600 homes are built on the hill.
Extensive preparations and landscaping was required, before the building work, which has won a Scottish Design Award for Public Realm and Landscaping by contractors rankinfraser landscape architecture, Blyth and Blyth Engineers and Foto- Ma Lighting Designers.
The nearby canal is part of the drainage system for the new homes and provides walking, cycling and watersports opportunities on the doorstep for the new residents.
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “The canal is a rich part of Glasgow’s heritage and this project puts it front and centre of ambitious plans to create an to be appealing, vibrant new community in the north of the city.
“Thanks to the partnership between Glasgow City Region City Deal and Scottish Canals, enabling works that unlock the potential of the site are now complete.
“That vital infrastructure opens the door to the development of quality new homes, community facilities and makes the area a more attractive place in which to live, work and visit.”
Scottish Canals said the project is part of a wider plan to get more people living along former industrial land near the canal.
Catherine Topley, Chief Executive Officer at Scottish Canals, said: “Completing these works is a major milestone in delivering this exciting housing development overlooking the Forth & Clyde Canal in North Glasgow.
“Not only is the canal a great backdrop for those who will be living there, it provides a fantastic leisure space for cycling, walking and commuting as well as capturing the site’s surface water run- off too.
“This project would not have been possible without great partnership working across the public and private sectors and City Deal investment has been a critical in getting to where we are today.”
The Dundashill development will provide a mix of homes including, apartments, townhouses and terraced homes.
A new road tree planting walkways down to the canal part of the ground work features completed.
Dundashill is one of a number of regeneration projects in the north of the city.
Work is already under way at Sighthill on a new housing project adding to the homes already on site following the demolition of the old tower blocks at Pinkston and Foutainwell.
Work is planned for nearby Cowlairs Park and at Hamiltonhill a mile along the Forth and Clyde Canal.
The Dundashill site was home to a whisky distillery, latterly owned by drinks giant Diageo.
The firm closed the grain distillery and cooperage in 2010 with the loss of around 200 jobs.
It brought to an end almost 200 years of whisky production at the site.
The site was once the home to a landmark chimney which at 70 metres high and on a hill could be seen from all over the city for decades, since it was erected in 1973.
It was demolished in 2011 to make way for the development works which will result in the Dundashill neighbourhood. and are and