A river of opportunity

Clyde Waterfront Strategic Partnership (www.clydewaterfront.com) facilitates and promotes the Clyde’s regeneration from Glasgow, via Renfrew to Dumbarton, with £3.5bn already spent or committed by the public & private sectors across nearly 300 projects, creating over 18,000 new jobs, 8,500 new homes and 300,000 m2 of new commercial space to date. Clyde Waterfront’s economy is now far more diverse, with several centres of excellence, for example:

Financial services: Glasgow’s multi award winning International Financial Services District, IFSD (www.ifsdglasgow.co.uk) has attracted +£1bn of investment to date, with employers like AON, AXA, Aviva, Barclays, beCogent, BNP Paribas, esure, First Data, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, National Australia Group, RBS, Santander and Tesco Finance, creating 16,000 new jobs since 2001. New tenants, new Grade-A offices, the Tradeston ‘Squiggly’ footbridge and exciting plans for hospitality besides the Clyde, all adding fresh impetus to the area.

Creative industries: This sector is thriving in Glasgow at Pacific Quay (www.pacificquaydmq.com) with BBC Scotland and STV firmly established in high tech broadcasting centres and another 50+ creative SMEs now occupying new or refurbished space in Medius, The Hub and Film City Glasgow, linked to the city centre by the Clyde Arc ‘Squinty’ bridge. Opposite a new 12,500 seat SECC National Arena will open in 2013, reinforcing the area as a world class entertainment and conference venue.

Shipbuilding: BAE Systems Surface Fleet’s two shipyards in Govan and Scotstoun have recruited hundreds of apprentices to join the 4,000 highly skilled workforce to complete the six £650m Type 45 Destroyers for the Royal Navy and also play a major role in the MOD’s £5bn joint contract for two 65,000 ton aircraft carriers, over the next decade.

Medical science: The £842m re-development of the NHS Southern General, expanding its maternity hospital and building new acute and children’s hospitals, to create one of Europe’s largest medical campuses, will employ thousands locally and be capable of treating 725,000 patients a year.

Leisure and tourism: The new £74m Riverside Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid, hopes to attract 750,000+ visitors annually from Spring 2011. The Glasgow Science Centre, Xscape/Sno!Zone, Titan Crane and Loch Lomond Seaplanes have all become very popular Clyde based attractions since launch and they are being complimented by new hotels such as Principal Hayley’s £20m Grand Central Hotel magnificent refurbishment.

Retail: Clyde Waterfront boasts some of the best retail destinations in the UK. Braehead’s 100+ stores and restaurants, which opened in 1999, now attract over 20m customer visits per annum. Glasgow’s bustling “Style Mile” centred on Buchanan Street is often voted the best shopping street in Britain and nearby the St Enoch’s Centre recent £100m refurbishment boasts the largest Hamleys toy store outside of London.

Housing: Providing new homes and attractive environments are integral to Clyde Waterfront’s plans. Glasgow Harbour’s £1.2bn riverside apartment development will expand further with new shops, restaurants and hotels being built in the near future, epitomising waterfront living. Two miles down river at Renfrew, six developers are building a whole new community of 2000 apartments and detached homes, besides Clyde View Park.

Education: Our innovative on line resource (www.clydewaterfronteducation.com) offers teachers 200 free lesson plans linking 12 Clyde themes with 8 subjects as part of the Curriculum for Excellence and we continue to sponsor Clyde Cruises “Classroom on the Clyde” school trips between SECC and Clydebank, helping young people learn more about careers and the environment to become even more enterprising and successful in the future.

Tourism: Thousands of locals and tourists visit the Clyde to experience its regeneration and heritage prompted by our advertising and heritage guide booklet (www.clydewaterfrontheritage.com).Furthermore, Clyde Cruises’ River Link waterbus that was promoted by Clyde Waterfront and Glasgow City Council in 2010, looks set to continue in 2011 to compliment Seaforce’s powerboat rides and the Waverley Paddle  Steamer’s “Doon the Watter” day trips.

Clyde Waterfront is making the most of its skilled workforce, cost competitive location, excellent communications and new infrastructure to develop a vibrant and thriving waterfront location that appeals to global companies and local communities alike.

For more information Clyde Waterfront, 4th Floor, Atrium Court, 50 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6HQ, +44 (0) 141 229 5420 or www.clydewaterfront.com/er