THE plan to regenerate the Shawfield area of the city will be welcome news for the people who live in the south east of Glasgow.

Once home to industries that led to land contamination the problem has been a barrier to investment in the past but once treated should enable business to look at the area as a suitable location.

While the banks of the River Clyde further downstream, west of the city centre, have seen much investment in recent years it has not flowed to the other parts of the city.

With the new M74 extension and East End regeneration route nearby, as well as the M8, the infrastructure is in place to be taken advantage of.

Linking to the hotel and conference trade, which has proved so successful for Glasgow, could be the key to boosting an area close enough to the city centre to provide additional capacity for what is still a growing market.

In the difficult economic conditions, Glasgow has to give itself as much of a chance as possible to compete with other cities as well as creating jobs for our citizens in the process.

The East End will be boosted by the Commonwealth Games and the new area earmarked for investment can spread the benefits further to other parts of the city that have been neglected.