Project Scotland
Summary
THE new chief executive of urban regeneration specialist Clyde Gateway is backing Scotland’s construction industry to rise to the net zero challenge.
Martin McKay told Project Scotland that he’s been encouraged by his dealings with contractors as the organisation presses ahead with its strategy to transform communities in Glasgow’s east end and parts of South Lanarkshire.
Since being established in 2008, Clyde Gateway has helped bring about tangible change in Dalmarnock, Rutherglen, Shawfield and Bridgeton, with over £1.5 billion investment from the public and private sectors. A number of businesses have relocated to the area, creating thousands of jobs in the process. Some 3,500 new homes have been built – with many more in the pipeline – alongside a range of amenities, commercial premises, and greenspace.
A huge part of the plans has involved bringing derelict and vacant land back into productive use, while sustainability has been a key focus, with Clyde Gateway pioneering low carbon innovations such as district heating networks and displaying a commitment to green regeneration.
“The change in the last three/four years has been pretty remarkable in the way people are now looking at energy efficiency and net zero,” Martin said. “We’re ahead of the curve on a lot of that. One of the projects at Rutherglen Links that we delivered very early on was a fabric first approach. We develop on fabric first as well as district heating. My message is that I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all. If we’re going to move forward and achieve the (environmental) targets, collectively, we need to use every tool at our disposal.
“District heating networks are like miniature regeneration projects. You have to think about them long-term, you have to understand the challenges that you’re trying to address, and then you have to be able to implement and be flexible in how you do that. We’re now at a point where we’re effectively going to be owning and operating two district heating networks."
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