Restoration to begin on historic docks

The docks, built in the late 19^th century by the Clyde Navigation Trust, accommodated some of the largest ships in the world in their heyday, and were used for repairs and refits of Clyde steamers.

Since they were closed in 1987 they have remained unused.

Now, feasibility studies have been carried out by the company leading the restoration, Govan Drydock, which has secured a licence to operate the number one dock for ship repairs and maintenance.

The Clyde Docks Preservation Initiative (CDPI), which protects and promotes the maritime heritage of the river, has welcomed the project and has set up the Govan Docks Regeneration Trust to spread awareness about the three docks.

“We call on all public sector agencies: Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow City Council, the Scottish government, as well as potential investors, to get fully behind this project to help ensure it is a success and able to further expand into the other two dry docks at Govan in the future, as a state of the art, sustainable maritime facility and community hub,” the CDPI says.

The charity says the three dry docks are ‘an outstanding graving dock complex without parallel in Scotland’.

Built from grey granite, some of which was hand carved, the dock is the only one on the Upper Clyde that has not been filled in for modern developments, says the charity.

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