AT LEAST 10,000 people in the east end of Glasgow should land jobs created by the massive regeneration of the area.
AT LEAST 10,000 people in the east end of Glasgow should land jobs created by the massive regeneration of the area.
Firm wins arena contractA LANARKSHIRE firm has been awarded the first contract to develop the new National Indoor Sports Arena in Glasgow's East End. Core Utility Solutions is to install all utilities, including electricity and gas, at the new arena and velodrome being built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The company, based at Tannochside, near Uddingston, is the first to start work on the ambitious complex in Dalmarnock, near Celtic Park. The National Arena will have seating for 5000 spectators and will stage the badminton matches as well as other events at the Games. All the cycling events will be held at the velodrome, which will accommodate 2000 with the ability to expand to 4000. Also on the site will be the new headquarters of sportscotland. Core was awarded the power infrastructure contract, which is worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, by Glasgow City Council and work has already started on diverting existing high voltage cabling. Peter Jones, operations director at Core, said: "The Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow in 2014 is a source of immense pride for the whole of Scotland and we are delighted to be playing our part in making this showpiece event a reality. "The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow in 2014 and we are working alongside Glasgow City Council to ensure the city and its facilities are ready. "This is an extremely high-profile contract - which is not without its challenges - and we had to overcome some stiff opposition to secure it." |
Glasgow City Council wants to create 20,000 jobs on the back of the Clyde Gateway project and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, with locals earmarked for half of them.
The council also want to take a "guiding hand" in the rebirth of the area to ensure a "joined up" approach, with the correct number of houses, shops and leisure facilities.
The aim is to avoid the mistakes of the past when giant, peripheral housing schemes were built in the 1950s and '60s but with few other facilities such as shops or community centres.
Now the council's executive committee is to adopt a local development strategy to bring together the various regeneration plans for the east end.
East end councillor George Redmond said: "This is about saying, here is how we can enable local people to benefit from the regeneration that is going on'.
"We want to improve their confidence and their skills and make sure the benefits are not lost on them.
"We have to learn from the past, both good and bad, and I think the opportunities we have in front of us are so sweeping we need to get them right first time.
"This has to be sustainable in the long-term.
"I don't want to see it coming back in my lifetime or my children's lifetime. We must ensure that, for generations to come, the east end is a place worth living, working and enjoying yourself in."
He said the figure of 10,000 local jobs was part of the target contained in the Clyde Gateway project and added: "Some of these jobs will be in construction, manufacturing, retail, sports and leisure.
"In the sports arena and velodrome alone we are talking about 400 jobs, so that is a good start.
"There are opportunities from the word go to train up local people so they have the skills and confidence to take these jobs."
A report going before the council's executive committee tomorrow said the aim of the strategy was to "create a modern city district fit for the 21st century". It added: "The east end LDS will be a local-level planning policy framework with which the council can guide the regeneration process to meet local needs."
The area, including Dalmarnock, Bridgeton, Parkhead and Carntyne/Haghill, previously held much of the city's heavy engineering activity, says the report.
"It experienced significant decline in the 1980s from which it has not fully recovered. It now consists of a number of dislocated and unconnected communities, with some residential areas left without adequate links to services and the rest of the city, often caused by the large tracts of derelict land.
"Population levels are low and much of the area suffers from significant deprivation.
"A recent survey by the Glasgow Centre for Population and Health confirmed poor health as a major issue and showed local people have low levels of satisfaction with many quality of life issues."
Councillor George Ryan, executive member for development and regeneration, said: "The council's vision for the east end is to create a vibrant new city district through a process based on reinvention and reconnection.
"People in the east end suffer from some of the highest levels of deprivation and health inequalities in Scotland.
"But this new strategy will allow us to unlock the huge potential in the area and help transform lives."
The Evening Times told yesterday how a patch of East End land worth just £45,000 in 1989 is to net its owners £5.5million of public cash - because it's needed for the Commonwealth Games.
Taxpayers will foot the bill for the 2.5 acres of wasteland on the site of the Athletes' Village in Dalmarnock. Landowner Graham Duffy had been accused of "holding Glasgow to ransom" over the purchase.
The £5.5m buy-up also goes before councillors tomorrow.
GATEWAY TO SUCCESSEast End projects within the £2billion Clyde Gateway scheme include:
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