Tom Manley / Text Sample for A10 Consideration.
‘GOVAN - A RECONNECTION’
Industries have come and gone, their stories entwined with the making of the city of Glasgow. Ships have left and streets have been renamed, yet despite its fair share of hard times Govan continues to redefine itself, and its relationship to Glasgow, the Clyde, and beyond. After many years of neglect, today sees Govan building a brighter future. An inspiring story of both people and place. Strategically positioned on the edge of The River Clyde, Govan provided a point of crossing, protection, power and ceremony to the ancient kings of Strathclyde. Its significance was assured. Centuries later, legends and landmarks such as John Elder and William Pearce, the shipyards of both Fairfield and Harland & Wolff, would define and epitomise maritime industry on the Clyde. Govan is very much part of Glasgow. With industry and imperial prowess, it is entwined with the making of Glasgow itself; yet it is distinct and psychologically distanced from the city. Subsumed by the city of Glasgow in 1912, a powerful story of protest and strength of character continues to be engrained in its making. With such rich history, the notion of place needs no making here. A focus has been placed on identifying assets to attract visitors, story telling, and the ability of cultural tourism, to help reconnect physically and emotionally with the city. Govan’s independent spirit, resourcefulness and cultural identity are very much at the centre of vibrant efforts to create a shared vision, re-‐establishing a sense of place and identity to an area, blighted by successive clearances and post industrial neglect. Heritage and renewal are terms that have been embraced in Govan, and a rich dialogue is underway between an array of local organisations, individuals, and within the community and creative networks. Between 1864 and 1904, with the pressures of unprecedented immigration, Govan’s population expanded tenfold to approx 90,000 people. The conditions of the working poor, overcrowding and public health issues led eventually to the well-‐documented and intense clearances of tenements. A brave new world of high rises, and roundabouts, beckoned as much of post-‐war Govan fell victim to demolition, amid the shifting lens of housing policy. However, in the seventies Govan was pivotal in drawing on its resilient community and, put in place a realisation of the value of tenement housing. The instrumental role of local housing associations began to flourish thanks to this tenement rehabilitation and resident engagement in Govan.
As usual in areas that have witnessed significant urban deprivation the challenges and issues are complex. Fall out from large scale top-‐down investment infrastructure, short sighted procurement policies, and planning decisions taken at the expense of local desires, have fuelled social, political, and physical barriers, which have become engrained and firmly rooted; visibly embodied in derelict, underused, and contested space. The recent recession saw a huge lull in development across Glasgow, a city whose fortunes over the last 20 years have seen significant progress in redefining its approach to urban design -‐ managing in places to adopt a ‘culturally planned’ inclusive and participative model. This has been both at odds with so much development that overlooks the specifics of place, and encouraged by trends formed from the sixties onwards that appreciate heritage, whilst seeing the benefits of collaborative working and local engagement. Govan has survived the recession; BAE systems are still producing ships, and the empowerment of local grass-‐roots initiatives have strengthened regeneration projects. Meanwhile, The Central Govan Action Plan has almost completed a 10 year programme of improvements to housing, the public realm, and historic buildings. This holistic approach has been recognised in Govan receiving the 2014 RTPI Silver Jubilee Cup award for planning excellence, whilst social enterprises continue to drive transformative projects. With the last of the familiar cranes now sadly absent from the Govan skyline, Zaha Hadid’s Riverside museum sits on land across the Clyde overlooking Govan. It boldly encloses the story of manufacturing and transport, often exported or ‘Clydebuilt’ in Govan. Social and economic repair will take time. A bridge across the water would be a further positive action forming a connection to Partick and the West End of the city. The story of land and people at Water Row at the heart of Govan still awaits proper acknowledgement and appropriate development to avoid being led by house builder’s or developer’s projections. The vast expansive dry docks still lie vacant and neglected; a potential landscape threatened by private interests and the removal of the current ecosystem that has taken hold.