March 24 2021

A rusting landmark on the River Clyde is set to become an important tourism destination Peel L&P agreed a sale of the industrial relic to community interest group Big Cran Co.

As part of the deal Glasgow City Council will administer £452k in funding for structural repairs to the Finnieston crane to permit its use for community-led activities such as a new museum and restaurant costed at a further £6.5m.

Allan Wilson, chairman of the Big Cran Co said: "This investment in the crane’s future sustainability will assist our efforts to convert the crane and its immediate environs into a state-of-the-art visitor attraction on the Clyde and will complement the substantial Glasgow Waters development further downstream.

“The funding support from both Clyde Mission and Peel L&P will enable us to embark on phase one of our transformational plans for the crane and help us in creating new employment and training opportunities for local people, as we focus on the crane’s role in the local economy’s post-covid recovery.”

Following in the footsteps of Clydebank's Titan Crane the work would see the fenced-off structure fully opened up to the public. 

The plans have been drawn up with the assistance of Donald Bentley Architect.

3 Comments

#1 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 24 Mar 2021 at 16:22 PM

Progress of a sort.

If we have no heavy industry left then it is better to worship what we had than ignore it and look the other way.

No matter what they do to the plot -- and they need to do a lot it will be a cathedral in the desert as long as the car park surrounding the Rotunda goes untouched.

Plus the Campanille service yard ...
The pedestrian "tunnel" ...
The lack of a proper SECC Square ...
The taxi rank ...
The second rate trees.

Consequently great to see it getting some investment but there is still a huge amount of work to do in the area.

Huge public draw but the detail is shocking.
Quite a few people need a boot up the erse.

#2 Posted by Peter on 25 Mar 2021 at 22:07 PM

There’s some old cranes in Poland or the likes where they painted them bright pink magenta. And they look amazing. We should do that. Pink and yellow stripes I say. Everything is grey and black in this town, mostly notably the sky.

#3 Posted by Alex on 26 Mar 2021 at 09:37 AM

A community interest group would benefit from working in partnership with small businesses - to maximise income. Could the large scale crane be adapted to accommodate and encourage healthy outdoor activities like climbing and abseiling. What a great Glasgow attraction that could be . .

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