THE Clyde waterfront and Renfrew riverside project will require 700 new and existing construction jobs, Renfrewshire Council has said.
Planning consent is in place for the project to transform the Clyde waterfront, which includes a two-lane opening road bridge over the river from Renfrew to the boundary between Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire.
A new road through Renfrew connecting the bridge to the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) will also come in the development, as well as an enhanced walking and cycling connection spanning from Renfrew to Yoker train station.
The local authority said that the construction contract is currently being finalised and will see all subcontract and supplier work over £10,000 publicly advertised, with supply chain events to encourage bids from local firms.
It added that community benefits from the main contract will see jobs, apprenticeship and graduate roles, work experience placements, school and college visits and career events provided as well as volunteering and funding for community projects.
Renfrewshire Council leader, Iain Nicolson, said, “The impact of Coronavirus on the local economy is being keenly felt by our many brilliant businesses and many people have faced redundancy and unemployment, so it is hugely significant that the Clyde waterfront project presents an opportunity we can seize upon now of much-needed jobs and opportunities for work and skills.
“To have the project finalised and the contract ready to award is a major boost to our local economy and will help sustain and protect people’s jobs, a lifeline to suppliers and the construction sector. Completing construction will in turn open up access to development sites along the River Clyde, bringing more jobs, opportunities and affordable homes on our doorstep, connecting communities to jobs, hospitals and education centres and create an attractive area along the waterfront.”
The final business case found a further 1,400 permanent jobs and 950 temporary construction roles could follow from the £230million in private sector investment attracted to both sides of the Clyde through improved access to development sites.
The report states that creation of a new road through Renfrew will reduce the volume of town centre traffic and create a more pleasant environment, while there will be improved access to the Clyde footpath and measures to safeguard the local habitat at Blythswood.
It continues by highlighting the critical importance of the improved infrastructure in attracting more companies to choose AMIDS, the 52-hectare campus for advanced manufacturing being developed by the Council in collaboration with Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.
The council said that completion of the underpinning infrastructure, also funded through the £1.13billion Glasgow city region city deal, is scheduled for summer, while construction is also well underway on its first tenants, the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre.
