New housing plans for Govan Docks regeneration

The new homes would be built as part of a wider regeneration of the Govan Graving Docks site

New housing plans as part of the ongoing regeneration of the Govan Graving Docks have been submitted to Glasgow City Council.

The plan to construct up to 304 new homes, at the southern boundary of the site, as part of a wider regeneration of the historic docks.

The site, which dates back to the 19th Century, is Category A-listed as an outstanding graving dock complex without parallel in Scotland.

The docks, which featured in the Oscar-winning Sam Mendes film 1917, have lain empty for 40 years but last year they got a £2.4m Scottish government grant to upgrade a riverside walkway and create green space by 2025.

Regeneration would also include green spaces and transforming the Pumphouse into a visitor attraction

The new housing proposals are led by New City Vision and designed by Glasgow -based architects O'Donnell Brown.

They said the new housing would take up only 20% of the site and was part of a wider masterplan to regenerate the three docks and "reconnect the people of Glasgow with the waterfront".

The planned housing blocks would sit along Govan Road and Clydebrae Street.

Wider regeneration plans on the site include creating a heritage park, transforming the pumphouse - the only building on the site - into a visitor attraction and a footbridge to link to site to nearby destinations like Glasgow Science Centre.

Dock number one is already under restoration with plans to use it as a repair facility for historic ships.

The development project won a coastal communities excellence award from National Maritime in September last year.

The housing blocks would be built on Govan Road and Clydebrae Street if approved by the council

The dry docks were originally built for use by the Clyde Navigation Trust for winter overhauls, repairs and refits of Clyde steamers.

The first dock was built in 1869 and opened in 1875, and all three were open for use by 1898.

It finally closed in 1987 and has since become neglected and derelict.

Previous regeneration plans have been rejected by the council, including by the project team behind the current proposals in 2018.

The docks have become derelict since closure in 1987

The developers said the new proposals would encourage a bold and imaginative balance between the creation of new homes and preservation and repair of the docks.

Harry O’Donnell, chairman of New City Vision, added that they had an "extensive period of community consultation", including immersive tours, exhibitions and a series of newsletters for those living or working around the site.

The latest planning application for the housing was submitted to Glasgow City Council in early December 2023.

A decision is expected by this spring.