By
Rebecca Gibson |
Inverclyde Council plans to build a new £15 million (US$19.4 million) berthing facility and visitor centre at Greenock Ocean Terminal in Inverclyde, Scotland.
To be funded by the Glasgow City Region Deal, the new berthing facility will boost Greenock’s capacity to handle cruise ships and enable operator Peel Ports to handle more than 150,000 cruise passengers per year. Forecasts suggest that this could generate an additional £26 million in annual revenue for the Scottish economy.
“The project is part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal and aims to boost the capacity at Greenock Ocean Terminal for cruise ships,” said Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council. “The development at ocean terminal over recent years from very small beginnings as, effectively, a side business to the container terminal business is a testimony to the commitment by Peel Ports to growing this market in Scotland. The project to deliver new berthing facilities will help to support that growth.”
Award-winning Scotland-based firm Richard Murphy Architects is designing the proposals for the visitor centre building, which is expected to open in spring/summer 2020 and provide a year-round attraction for cruise visitors. It will comprise a restaurant with panoramic views over the Clyde and a purpose-built art gallery.
The gallery will showcase the work of sculptor and Inverclyde resident George Wyllie (1921-2012), who also worked as a customs officer at the port. The George Wyllie Foundation will also use the gallery as a space to host arts-for-all projects.
“It has always been an ambition of The George Wyllie Foundation to celebrate and mark my father’s life and work in Inverclyde; an area which he loved and which was the lifeblood of all his art works,” said Louise Wyllie, the sculptor’s eldest daughter and a trustee of the foundation. “This exciting development at Ocean Terminal in Greenock marks a sea-change in the Foundation’s on-going voyage to mark his legacy as a ground-breaking artist and to make more people aware of his life’s work.”