Collegelands Calton Barras

Overview

The Collegelands Calton Barras (CCB) project area suffers from high levels of multiple deprivation that are attributed to a lack of local job opportunities, physical barriers that prevent easy access to city centre and, high levels of vacant and derelict land, With the investment of £27m, City Deal aims to address these issues by delivering an integrated, attractive and resilient neighbourhood within the inner east end of Glasgow.

The key elements of the project include improving public transport; improving connectivity and road infrastructure; Calton Barras Action Plan and Collegelands and Bellgrove Abattoir (known as the Meat Market) site remediation and access and servicing.

Community Benefits

The benefits to the community are:

• Vacant and derelict land remediated and brought back into meaningful use
• increased connectivity (to overcome major physical barriers to movement)
• public realm improvements to create a far more cohesive and navigable area that unlocks the potential of the locality.
• New homes built
• Commercial space created

Consultation

Consultation is underway. Further community engagement (including stakehold's like the Calton Barras Action Plan) will take place as the project progresses and develops.

Projects

The current projects are listed below:

• Improving Public Transport: The project aims to improve access to public transport and linking different modes better together. These will be done in partnership with transport providers. It will also aim to address the busy road environment by creating better and safer road crossing for pedestrians that currently is seen as a barrier to movement. Together these elements will support more sustainable ways of travel, access to the City Centre and the central belt and their employment and training opportunities and services.

• Improving Connectivity and Road Infrastructure: This project addresses some of the main physical barriers to movement in the project area and aims to improved pedestrian and cycling connectivity both in north-south and west-east directions at the heart of Collegelands by creating a new pedestrian bridge across the railway line. The bridge and its new connecting routes will link with existing and planned active travel routes contributing to the wider network to improve the connections from the East End to the City Centre.

• Improving local infrastructure and Connectivity: Meat Market Site Remediation and Road Infrastructure: Meat Market site on Duke Street has been vacant since the 1990's and it has been identified as one of the key vacant sites in the CCB project area. It occupies a strategic position on one of the main routes connecting the wider East End to the City Centre and prior to City Deal investment and the housing development site start, the site was seen as a major barrier to movement.
  
  A masterplan developed by NRS Project Management & Design was approved in 2019 (18/01350/FUL); it aims to stitch the site back into the surrounding neighbourhood by reintroducing existing street pattern prevalent in Dennistoun and smaller residential blocks. It also introduces a new, linear greenspace which accommodates a new, alternative pedestrian and cycling route connecting the site to the surrounding neighbourhood and to the wider area by extending the environmental improvements to Collegelands and the City Centre.
  
  The first phase of the City Deal funded works to remediate the ground was completed in 2020 with the second phase of the works for new road infrastructure, servicing and creation of a public linear park to follow. Part of the works on new roads and infrastructure are underway, delivered by HOME Group, on the eastern side of the site.
   
• Calton Barras Action Plan projects support the Barras Market and the project area's emerging creative quarter and community run businesses by improving the public realm and the area's connections to surrounding neighbourhoods, encouraging more footfall from the City Centre and bringing historic structures into meaningful use.
   
  • Barras Public Realm phase 1 focused on public realm improvements within Barras Market. The project created high quality environment where the pedestrians are prioritised over vehicles. This was achieved by introducing traffic calming measures and realigning internal junctions. The works also included repairs to the iconic Barras Arches and new high quality surfacing. A local artist studio, Bespoke Atelier, with the help from St Anne's Primary School pupils created artwork that took inspiration from different patterns and landmarks found around the Barras, and the artwork etched onto stone slabs now form part of the new public realm.
     
  • Junction Improvements continues the design principles of the Barras Public Realm by improving the safety and quality of the environment around the external roads of the Barras Market area; works included widening of footways, introducing traffic calming measures, redesign of the key junctions and creation of new cycleways. The project was partly funded by Sustrans.
     
  • Developer Deficit Grant Scheme project aims with the help of City Deal funding to bring historic buildings or structures back into use. Meat Market Shed forms part of the masterplan developed by the Council for the wider Meat Market site and it holds a critical role in the success of regenerating the site. The masterplan reconnects the B-listed structures to the rest of the site and the surrounding neighbourhood by opening up vistas and physical links and plans to develop it into a new community asset are currently in development phase by three local housing associations with the support of the Council and City Deal funding.

Fact File

Location	East of City Centre bounded by High Street; Glasgow Cross Saltmarket Duke Street Bellgrove Street Abercrombie Street and Glasgow Green
Electoral Ward	9 - Calton 10 - City Centre/Anderson/Yorkhill 18 - East Centre
Budget	£27m
Current Stage	Partly completed, design development and detailed design stages.
Completion Date	2025