A NEW hotel, which will have a bar and restaurant floating on the Clyde, is planned for Glasgow city centre.

A NEW hotel, which will have a bar and restaurant floating on the Clyde, is planned for Glasgow city centre.

The development between Stockwell Street and Saltmarket will also include a land-based hotel, floating offices and studios. Glasgow City Council, which owns part of the land, has agreed to go into partnership with city-based developer Firthport, which owns the hotel site.

A city council spokesman said plans are at a very early stage but the developers are prepared to commit substantial resources to the scheme provided the council agrees to either sell its land or to a profit-sharing package.

Philip Braat, the council's deputy executive member for business and the economy, said: "This project has the potential to be a key development for both the Clyde and this area of the city centre.

"The area around this site is being transformed and its successful regeneration would provide a link between Custom House Quay and Glasgow Green."

Council leaders are keen to see more activity on the river which each year hosts the popular River Festival.

The only year-round attraction on the river at the moment is The Ferry, previously known as the Renfrew Ferry.

In 2005 The Ferry underwent a complete refurbishment and has moved closer to the city centre at it's new berth on Anderston Quay.

It has new bars, toilets, a Top Deck restaurant and a sun deck and its owners say it is now placed to meet the challenge of the 21st century.

Earlier this year a £60,000 campaign was launched to get more people to take a trip "doon the watter".

The Clyde Waterfront Heritage Guide aims to turn the 13-mile stretch of River Clyde from Glasgow Green to Dumbarton Rock into a tourism hotspot.

The initiative - a joint programme developed by Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise and Renfrewshire Council - seeks to highlight the changing face of the Clyde.