City chiefs are expected to agree to a ‘final offer’ of just over £2m from the owners of a riverside private housing development towards a new quay wall and public path
Glasgow’s City Administration Committee (CAC) is recommended to approve, in principle, a financial contribution from Speirs Gumley, which manages the Waterfront development at Windmillcroft Quay on behalf of its co-owners.
The money would be combined with funding from the Glasgow City Region City Deal, a £1bn investment from the UK and Scottish Governments.
Windmillcroft Quay, a 300m stretch along the south side of the River Clyde, between the Barclays site and Springfield Quay, is occupied by the 278-home development.
Due to a deteriorating quay wall, a public walkway was closed in 2014 and temporary stabilisation work was carried out in 2016.
Speirs Gumley applied for £11.6m of City Deal funding, based on cost estimates at the time, in 2018.
The bid was approved on the basis the council would carry out the project and the property owners would make a financial contribution.
In January, a design report estimated a cost of £15m to £18m for a “hybrid of single and twin steel sheet structure”.
The offer to the council includes £5,000 per property and a further £750,000, which is subject to confirmation from Speirs Gumley.
City Deal investment is expected to range from £13m to £16m.
The District Valuer has estimated property values in the area have increased by between 10 and 15 percent over the past five years - but found the Waterfront development has not benefited from the market increases – “likely due to the burden of the deteriorating quay wall”.
It concluded any work to “rectify the quay wall burden” would add £4m to £5m of market value across the development.
A design proposal suggests building the new wall approximately 12 metres in front of the existing wall to “avoid interference with the existing structure of the quay wall and the residential blocks”.
The riverbed, where the wall would be built, is currently owned by Peel Ports, with the council intending to enter into negotiations to buy the area.
A council report states: “The amount of the financial offer by Speirs Gumley, on behalf of the co-owners, is a result of a committed effort between all parties over a number of years.
“The proposal presents an amount of contribution that is affordable to the co-owners and which Speirs Gumley and the co-owners believe can be successfully delivered.
“It should be noted that Speirs Gumley have confirmed the financial sum proposed for the co-owners contributions is a final offer.”
The project will not progress any further if the offer is declined. Work is scheduled to start in January 2022 if the plans get the go-ahead.
Councillors are only asked to approve in principle at the moment as further negotiations may be necessary to address “technical, legal and financial issues related to the project”.
The CAC will meet via telephone conference on Thursday.
