Clyde Gateway is global success
Clyde Gateway is being held up as a global leader in transforming communities.
The urban regeneration company, who operate in Rutherglen as well as Glasgow’s east end, this week published their seventh annual report.
Chair of the Gateway board, Lord Smith of Kelvin, revealed they had received visitors from Australia, China, Canada, France, El Salvador, Uganda and Russia as well as from across the UK.
The report also details spending of £44 million in the last financial year across the Clyde Gateway area.
Included in this figure is work on infrastructure at Shawfield, the completion of the One Rutherglen Links office block and the ongoing project at Cuningar Loop.
Lord Smith, who helped deliver Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games, said: “The statistics and figures in our latest annual report provide very clear evidence that we have picked up the baton from the 2014 Games, run with it and ensured its spin-offs and benefits are going to be enjoyed for many more years to come.
“You only need to take a quick glance at the east end of Glasgow and Rutherglen to get a flavour of the remarkable change which is underway. The very best of developments of all types, including community and sports facilities, housing and offices, can be found throughout the Clyde Gateway area, with each and every one of them making a real and meaningful difference to the quality of life for local residents.
“There is huge interest the world over in what we are doing and how we are doing it. The past year alone has seen visitors come here from all corners of the globe.
“Without exception, they have admired the work we are undertaking and have been particularly complimentary about the extent to which we enable the local communities themselves to shape and drive forward the changes.”
For the first time ever, expenditure on the key strategic goal of increasing economic activity outstripped the spend on sustainable place transformation, a fact which bodes well for the future according to chief executive Ian Manson.
He said: “Up until now we have had to spend almost 70 per cent of all our available resources on remediating large areas of derelict, vacant and often contaminated or polluted land but this latest investment of £17m added up to just under 40 per cent of our yearly spend in 2014/15.”
This means that much more was available to spend on activities which brought jobs and economic growth to the area, along with providing support to programmes and developments that are popular and in demand locally.
“The past two weeks alone, since the annual report went to print, have seen £5m worth of new community facilities open in the Clyde Gateway area – facilities that will be owned, run and managed by local residents – as well as our announcement that we will be putting almost £350,000 of resources into school and extracurricular activities to the benefit of more than 8000 pupils of all ages in our area.”
Copies of the 2014/ 15 Clyde Gateway annual report can be downloaded from its website at www.clydegateway.com while copies can be obtained at the Town Hall, Healthy ‘n’ Happy and the Burnhill Sports Centre or by telephoning 0141 276 1573.
There is huge interest the world over in what we are doing