SCOTLAND’S remaining major steel plants are under threat, with owner Tata having announced it is closing its Dalzell plate rolling works in Motherwell and the Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang.

In 1976 one of Glasgow’s steelworks suffered that fate, yet in the years since the affected area has had a major revival.

Our picture shows the Parkhead Forge shopping centre as it nears completion in 1988, with Norry Griffin, left, Charlie Higgins, and Colin Cooper, right, having played their part in its construction.

The Forge was built on the site of the former Parkhead Forge steelworks of William Beardmore & Co, which had been set up in 1837.

By 1896 the works covered 25 acres and was the largest steelworks in Scotland, specialising in the manufacture of armaments and armour plate for warships.

During the First World War it employed more than 20,000.
There was a slump during the 1920s and 1930s and 
a revival during the Second World War, but after the war demand fell and Parkhead Forge closed in 1976.

The shopping centre opened on the site in 1988 and covers more than 400,000 square feet, with more 60 shops, a multi-screen cinema and 1800 car parking spaces.

As today is the last Saturday before Christmas, you can bet it will be packed with people looking to buy presents.