I attended a meeting of the Port Glasgow
Regeneration Forum today, which has been established to oversee the
regeneration of Port Glasgow Town Centre.
There were a number of reports on the agenda.
Riverside Inverclyde staff provided an update
on projects they are leading on. They reported on the completion of the new car
park on the site of the former social work offices at Newark House on 25
September. The car park is now available for use by tenants and visitors to Scarlow
House Business Centre.
Design work on the new western entrance
sculpture – “Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow” by John McKenna - is progressing.
The aim is to have the sculpture installed by March 2017.
A planning application is due to be submitted
next week for the new spur road off the ‘Tesco’ roundabout and associated
public realm works. All going to plan, tenders will be invited by the end of
February with work starting later in the year.
A decision on RI’s bid for Regeneration
Capital Grant Funding from the Scottish Government for improvements to the
‘lower town centre quarter’ off Princes Street has been delayed until February
as the Finance Secretary John Swinney is reviewing his budget priorities.
A bid
to the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Communities Capital Fund for new
entrance signage was unsuccessful. RI is exploring alternative funding sources
for this work.
Work should start in January on a project to
light up Port Glasgow’s historic town buildings, which house the town’s public
library, at a cost of £80,000.
RI is working with the Council to produce a
database of all commercial properties within the town centre to assist with
enquiries from people interested in establishing a new business.
A report was received from the Council’s
Business Development Team on the work they are doing to support businesses in
the town centre. They have recently awarded grants to two local businesses and
are working on grants to a further ten.
The Council’s Corporate Director of
Environment & Regeneration, Aubrey Fawcett, reported that the Council’s
Policy & Resources Committee had recently approved funding of £1m towards
the refurbishment of the listed King George VI Building in King Street, which
was once Port Glasgow’s town hall.
Willie Rennie, the Council’s Environmental
Services Manager, provided an update on recent and planned investment in
Coronation Park.
The new public slipway is currently at the
design stage with tenders due to be invited soon. The project should be
completed by March 2016.
New quayside fencing is due to be installed
in the new year as are new park benches and litter bins.
The extension of the cycle path through the
park to Newark Park is due to start soon, with work to be completed by spring
2016.
Representatives from ScotRail provided a
report on their recent walkabout at Port Glasgow station with community
representatives. They are exploring how access to both platforms can be
improved for people with disabilities. They are also looking at how the former
taxi office at the entrance to the station can be put to good use for the
benefit of community. The Forum welcomed
the recent painting works at the station.
Finally John Morgan, Business Development
Director of Ferguson Marine, made a presentation on his company’s exciting plans
for the redevelopment and expansion of the shipyard. The Forum was very
impressed by the proposals and in particular the company’s plans to hire 30
apprentices each year over the next five years.
As you can see there is a lot happening in
Port Glasgow.
Work has also started on the second phase of
the £40m Port Glasgow Retail Park. This is due for completion by August 2016.
2016 promises to be an exciting year for the
Port.
The next meeting of the Forum is scheduled
for 29 February 2016.
