How we get better-paid jobs and a greener future
◆ Driving innovation and regeneration can help supercharge growth in Scotland, writes Martin Joyce
The economic outlook for the UK appears to be improving, if only incrementally. There is an opportunity to super charge this growth, securing better paid jobs and a greener future in the process, but only if we invest in driving innovation and creating the right environment for organisations to flourish. At Clyde Gateway, in the east end of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire, we have built the foundations for this to happen.
Places like Dalmarnock, Bridgeton and Rutherglen in this part of the city were historically synonymous with heavy industry. The economic and social challenges for the community when these disappeared are well known and understood; however after sustained investment in the area, spurred on by the development of the Commonwealth Games ten years ago, there has been tangible improvements.
Indeed, for many people the regeneration has been transformational, with new housing, improved civic spaces, and a number of new parks. Many new businesses have made Clyde Gateway their home, bringing new jobs and ensuring that regeneration benefits will be locked in for generations to come.
We can do even more with the right investment. If we can continue to attract high value manufacturing and research and development organisations to Clyde Gateway it will not just be known for being a regeneration success story, but as the hub for key growth sectors in Scotland.
An example of this working well is at the Clyde Gateway East business park where recent Scottish Enterprise funding is allowing Clyde Gateway to develop additional commercial units where advanced manufacturers like Torishima and Glacier Energy have already found a home. Or, in the derelict land in Shawfield that is being remediated and developed for commercial use, using Levelling Up funding from the UK Government.
However, this success has not happened by accident. In Clyde Gateway we have created an area for business with the infrastructure to thrive yet we have been able to remain keenly focused on the environment – something that is of utmost importance to businesses nowadays. Organisations moving into commercial spaces in Dalmarnock can benefit from a district heating network and this is attracting high growth businesses like Utopi who are driven by their ESG purpose. similarly, magenta park, which is transitioning to focus on innovation, will utilise a pioneering renewable heating and cooling district heat network – one of only five in Europe. The park will have capacity to provide commercial space suitable for high value manufacturing and life sciences. These high growth sectors have the potential to revitalise long-term growth in Glasgow, Scotland and the UK. Fostering an innovation economy will get more people into higher paid jobs, address issues of low productivity that have impacted our economy in recent years, while delivering a greener and cleaner future.
Regeneration companies like Clyde Gateway show the power of reversing economic fortunes. Using private and public funding we have built momentum in delivering economic and social change for communities. If we push on, not just in Glasgow, but in the country as a whole, to deliver a more innovative economy, we can create a legacy of prosperity and opportunity for generations to come.
Martin Joyce is Executive Director of Regeneration at Clyde Gateway