Govan, ‘a reconnection’

Govan. Rich in significance and stories, Glasgow’s riverside community, has had two great eras in its history: At the heart of a Medieval Kingom of Strathclyde, where its vital position on the banks of The Clyde provided a crossing point allowing the city’s earliest local industries and settlement to develop; later to be a bastion for shipbuilding and immense industrial prowess. Its landscape has left a legacy.

As Govan’s age of shipbuilding gave way to competition from elsewhere, the area suffered a loss of jobs and accelerated a fallout, visible in neglected tenements, vacant sites, and social deprivation, raising big challenges for its reconnection to the city.

People need to be empowered to be in the driving seat of the areas renewal. A central part of activity underway in Govan aims to to realise the potential for heritage and renewal to integrate, and for tourism, local knowledge and social inclusion to inform the regeneration of the area. This ground up reaffirmation of a place has ben backed up by large scale improvements in infrastructure, and housing supported by the city council and conservation bodies.

At the heart of Govan throughout its development lies Water Row – the route from Govan Cross to the river crossing. Where once a sacred power capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde resided, it became the beating heart of shipbuilding; before bleaker days as a tarmacced carpark, reflected the problems of Govan’s cultural plight. New housing has arrived, yet a hostile fence surrounding what remains of a vibrant travelling show people’s yard sheds light on an array of contested views for the site.

A new focus for this part of Govan is now recognized with a bridge across the water to the Riverside Museum, new walkways, and housing all part of development proposals, along with ideas to for reimagining the Graving Docks. The success will be dependent on meeting the needs of local people, and working to build a stronger local community. Please refer to the blog section of this website for some more posts on Govan and this excellent post by renowned historian Tim Clarkson