Spiers Wharf on the Forth and Clyde canal in Glasgow will undergo a £100m redevelopment to create a mixed-use destination. The project is part of The Glasgow Canal Regeneration Partnership’s (GCRP) 20-year plan to revitalise 1,000-acres of the Forth and Clyde canal from Port Dundas to Maryhill.
A design team consisting of Make Architects, landscape designers rankinfraser and artists KOAN3 have developed three masterplan options for the site on behalf of the GCRP. The project is a joint venture between Glasgow City Council, the ISIS Waterside Regeneration company, with support from British Waterways Scotland.
“The aspiration is that Spiers Lock will be a true mixed-use development, with a full range of residential accommodation, commercial, retail, leisure and cultural facilities, anchored by the presence of the existing Scottish Opera at the heart of the site,” said Helena Huws of Make Architects.
As the site is elevated with a view over Glasgow’s city centre, it has the potential to become a ‘Balcony for the City’. It will have a combination of art, water, landscape, views and contemporary architecture to make it a destination where people want to spend their time, explained a spokesperson for GCRP.
The site’s design will be finalised over the coming weeks and a public exhibition of the final masterplan is scheduled for June 2008.
As part of the scheme at Spiers Lock and Maryhill, there is a host of smaller projects already being delivered on the canalside. This includes a new canal basin which opened at Port Dundas in 2006 and a landscaped pathway that will re-link Spiers Wharf with Glasgow’s city centre.
