Glasgow Forth and Clyde canal new homes plan

The council says £750million of public and private investment will be ploughed into regeneration projects along the Forth and Clyde canal in the north of the city.

Planning consent has been granted for more than 3,000 new homes over the next ten years at four separate sites, adding to hundreds of properties that have already been built by housing associations and private builders.

The new properties are described as "environmentally friendly with attractive and safe open spaces" and access to a wide range of community facilities and services.

"Presciently, the developments will meet the increasing demand for single family homes with private outdoor space," the report says.

It follows research by Glasgow Caledonian University involving 137,032 people which found that people living within 700 metres of the canal in the deprived areas had a 15% lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease, a stroke or hypertension in the years after improvements were made.

They had also lowered their risk of diabetes by 12% and obesity by 10%

The effects of increased exercise, better air quality and reduced stress have been cited as possible reasons, as well as an enhanced “sense of pride” in the living environment.

Councillor Alan Gow, who is heading up the regeneration plans on behalf of the council with Scottish Canals, said some of the funding for the next phase of the programme had been sourced "but not all of it".

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Hundreds of homes have already been built at Sighthill, Dundashill, Cowlairs and Hamiltonhill as well as an indoor skatepark and the city’s first nature reserve.

Work is also progressing to build a new £12 million active travel bridge linking the communities of Maryhill, Gilshochill and Ruchill in the city for the first time since the waterway opened in 1790.

Stockingfield Bridge is expected to be completed by September 2022.

The council says regeneration projects have prioritised the reuse of persistently vacant and derelict sites.

According to records there is 152 hectares of empty land within the canal area, accounting for 16% of the total amount n Glasgow. The housing projects will reduce this by 50 hectares.

Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Chair of the Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public Realm Committee at Glasgow City Council, described the work done so far as a "real success story for Glasgow".

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He said:  “Recent years have seen tremendous progress made along the canal corridor, from new housing at Sighthill and Maryhill - with more to come at sites in between - to the creation of the Smart Canal to the development of creative, cultural and sports hubs and greater connections between communities on both banks of the canal."

Over the past decade, the area at Speirs Locks has found new purpose as a major cultural and creative quarter for the city of Glasgow with major companies including The Whisky Bond, National Theatre Scotland, Scottish Opera and the Royal Conservatoire opening new bases in the area.

The Red Bull Neptune Steps, which is the world’s first uphill swimming race, has now been replicated in France and Sweden.

The £17million Claypits project has created a nature reserve within a 10-minute walk many of areas that rank poorly in terms of the Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

The area was originally the home of a clay quarry used to build the canal in the late 1700s and is now home to array of plants, trees, and wildlife including roe deer, peregrine falcons and whitethroat warblers.

Chris Brown, executive chair and founder of igloo Regeneration, said investment in the canal was driving "transformational change" in the north of Glasgow.

He said:  “The Canal Action Plan rivals any UK regeneration initiative in terms of scale and ambition."