Water Row

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Re: Water Row

Postby Mori » Fri Jul 06, 2012 4:18 pm

Friday 6 July 2012

ET

Group in bid to block plans for car park on Govan heritage site

CAMPAIGNERS are fighting plans by Glasgow City Council to create a car park on top of a heritage site

The council has unveiled plans for Water Row, Govan, which connects the area to the Clyde and was once the seat of kings.
The vacant site is next to the pontoon where the Govan ferry berths to take passengers to the Riverside Museum.
The council wants to re-surface the road and run a managed car park for visitors using the ferry route.
They say it is just a temporary measure until further plans for the area are developed.
However, campaigners believe the plans should be delayed until a detailed archaeological survey is carried out.
They say the council should be exploiting the area's heritage.
It is thought that two routes of historical significance intersect at Water Row.
From AD 500-1100 it was the processional path of the kings of Strathclyde between their ceremonial mound, known as Doomster Hill, and the principal church of their kingdom, on the site of Govan Old Parish Church.
The area also contained the ancient ford and crossing-point on the Clyde that once connected both church and hill to the royal estate at Partick.
Around five years ago Glasgow University carried out excavations on behalf of Glasgow City Council around the church but a full survey has never been carried out.
Andrew McAvoy, an architect from Glasgow, who is among the campaigners, said: "This ground, currently under threat of resurfacing for vehicular use, is of major significance to the heritage of the town. We believe that it should be conserved for the local community as a site of archaeological and historical interest.
"With the possibility that surviving traces of both routes may be retrievable beneath the layers of Govan's industrial past, and with resurfacing work now imminent, we believe that an archaeological investigation of Water Row has become a priority. We therefore urge that the current plan to resurface Water Row be postponed to allow a preliminary archaeological survey to commence."
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "The site is currently functioning as a car park, which has developed informally over time, due to the site being vacant for a number of decades. We plan to formalise this use by improving the surface of the site and bringing the car park into active management.
"This would only be temporary until the site is developed as part of the wider regeneration of central Govan.
"The council views the development of the site as a crucial element in the renewal of the Govan and the Clyde corridor.
"We recognise the site's importance and will take account of all the relevant factors, including its location and history, when shaping the development proposals.
"We have already invested significantly to install a pontoon on the River Clyde at the location and to improve the public realm adjacent to the pontoon.
"We will continue to engage with a range of relevant local stakeholders regarding the long- term regeneration and development of central Govan."
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Mori
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