Former chemical works transformed into hub

A pair of new business units have been completed at the former contaminated Shawfield site.

- ROBERT MITCHELL

The high-value manufacturing industrial units have been built on formerly-contaminated land which had been described as one of the most polluted inner-city locations in the UK.

They were completed ‘on time and on budget’ after a funding boost from the Scottish Government.

Named Innovation Shawfield, the South Lanarkshire development was visited by the Scottish Government Investment Minister, Tom Arthur on May 27, to inspect the newly-finished commercial spaces that form the first phase of a new £500 million regeneration programme called ‘Clyde Gateway Innovation.’

Innovation Shawfield has been jointly funded by the UK Government, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Clyde Gateway, with additional funding for further infrastructure works also being provided by South Lanarkshire Council.

The works are spearheaded by Clyde Gateway, Scotland's largest regeneration project, which in addition to the construction of the two new units, also includes further site acquisition and remediation works as well as the treatment of contaminants from the old chemical works near the Polmadie Burn.