Former power station site is to be transformed after land deal with third sector groups
A former power station site is to be transformed into a 550 home affordable housing development in Glasgow’s east end.
Clyde Gateway has sold the 22 acre Dalmarnock Riverside site to third sector housing organisation Link Group in a deal worth £5.7 million.
It paves the way for what has been a vacant and derelict area on the banks of the River Clyde to come back into use for the first time in almost 40 years.
Link will now press ahead with a six-year investment programme worth £65m that will see a mix of various sized units across different tenures including social rented, shared equity and family homes for sale.
Lord Smith of Kelvin, chair of Clyde Gateway, said: “This deal epitomises what Clyde Gateway is all about.
“We have stepped in to deal with market failure and having initially purchased the site and followed it up with a spend of £3m on decontamination and infrastructure improvements beneath the surface, we have now found a very able and willing development partner who will deliver the types and quality of housing that the community here requires.”
Link will build the site on a phased basis with the first phase getting underway in 2016 and overall completion due in 2021/22.
Roy Stirrat, chair of Link Group Limited, said: Link has a design philosophy which embodies Clyde Gateway’s masterplanning aims of high quality buildings and open space, creating a vibrant and cohesive and sustainable community.
“Working with our partners and stakeholders, Link aims to develop the site delivering a range of community benefits, including up to 76 jobs new to the Clyde Gateway area, which will provide a lasting legacy for the Dalmarnock area and the people living there.”
Regenerating a site for sore eyes
Dalmarnock Power Station was, for decades, a landmark structure whose chimney dominated the East End skyline.
It was built in 1915 and expanded on two occasions in 1921 and 1935 to meet the ever growing demand for power across the city.
It was such a strategic component of the city and national economies that it was targeted by enemy aircraft during the Second World War.
The power station suffered only superficial damage, but bombs landed on adjacent tenements with loss of civilian lives.
It closed in 1977 and was demolished in 1980, but such was the strength of the structure that it took three attempts to bring down the chimney in a controlled explosion.
The site subsequently lay vacant and derelict, often used for illegal dumping and fly tipping, before being purchased by Clyde Gateway in 2010.
The first stage of the work to bring the site back into use saw a 12-month remediation programme by Clyde Gateway in 2011/12 for the removal of thousands of tons of concrete and steelwork as well as clearance of Japanese Knotweed.
