A new £3.1 million community park has been officially opened in Glasgow’s east end, the fourth greenspace developed in recent years by regeneration specialist Clyde Gateway.
Tom Arthur MSP, the Scottish Government’s minister for public finance, planning and community wealth, opened the park by cutting a ribbon. He and Clyde Gateway board member Rosie Robertson also gave speeches to mark the occasion.
Work started at Riverside Park last December to transform the previously vacant site into a new greenspace which provides direct access from Dalmarnock to the Clyde Walkway with new footpaths, lighting, rain gardens, play and landscaped areas.
The new greenspace will support the delivery of hundreds of new residential units as well as commercial spaces. As part of Clyde Gateway’s commitment to increasing biodiversity and reducing the area’s carbon footprint, over 5,000 square metres of shrubs and 45 trees have been planted.
Together with Clyde Gateway’s investment into creating this new space, £750,000 of funding for the project was provided by the Scottish Government through its Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme, and £98,000 through its Nature Restoration Fund.
Meanwhile, work is underway on a further green infrastructure project at Old Dalmarnock Road, where a former vacant 5.7-acre site is being transformed into active greenspace.
Clyde Gateway board member Rosie Robertson said, “Everyone at Clyde Gateway is committed to reimagining once derelict and inaccessible sites into attractive new green spaces that the local community can really benefit from. This investment also helps to attract much needed new homes and job opportunities to the area.
“The park’s design opens up views of the River Clyde, maximising its proximity to the water. It’s really important to us that we support as many people as possible to access the park, one of the reasons why lighting has been installed throughout, making it brighter and safer. Riverside Park is another green investment that is making Clyde Gateway a popular choice to work, live and play.”
Tom Arthur MSP added, “Clyde Gateway and the local community are to be congratulated for bringing this vacant site back into use and I am glad to be formally opening the park. This is the first project completed under the Scottish Government’s £50 million low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme and is a good example of driving regeneration and innovation while improving biodiversity and tackling climate change as part of the wider transformation of our economy.
“Many thousands of people live within a 20 minute walk of the new park and others will experience it as they cycle, wheel or walk along the Clyde Walkway. Crucially, this new Riverside Park can help attract further investment needed to secure regeneration and transformation of the surrounding land.”
