City Deal funding approved for University of Glasgow’s waterfront campus

The University of Glasgow’s plan for a Clyde Waterfront Innovation Campus development on the banks of the River Clyde has been given a £1 million funding boost.As part of the £1.13 billion Glasgow City Region City Deal, the proposed campus will be a key part of the Clyde Waterfront Innovation Quarter.This project aims to regenerate the waterfront as an attractive urban quarter that will bring significant private sector investment to Glasgow and unlock the economic potential of vacant and derelict sites close to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.By the end of the City Deal investment in the Clyde Waterfront Innovation Quarter, it is expected that almost 4,000 new jobs will have been created, along with 184,000 square metres of new commercial floorspace.With regard to the Clyde Waterfront Innovation Campus itself, this will be a high technology innovation facility – to be built on vacant and derelict land in Govan – with academic and industrial assets that will stimulate economic growth, particularly in the Life Science and Further Education sectors, through the proximity to the hospital and other high-value-added industries.The first stage of the campus will feature an enhanced James Watt Nanofabrication Centre and a Precision Medicine Living Laboratory, and a technology accelerator will be established, with a flexible space where companies can co-locate, carry out collaborative research and develop innovative products.Unveiled by the university last month, the campus is expected to cost £80m to complete, and the University of Glasgow has submitted a bid of £25m for UK Government Strength In Places funding, and has identified in-principle funding support of £10m from Glasgow City Region City Deal. The funding approved by the council yesterday will support design, site investigations and technical studies.Other projects funded by the Glasgow City Region City Deal within the Clyde Waterfront Innovation Quarter include the Govan – Partick Bridge; new public realm in Central Govan; and the redevelopment of both Govan Old Church and Water Row.