At a meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council’s housing and communities committee last week, elected members approved a recommendation from officers to buy an area of 1.178 hectares of ground on the former John Brown Shipyard site at Queens Quay from Clydeside Regeneration Limited (CRL) for a total of £1.82 million.

The purchase will now be completed before the end of March, with the deal funded by the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The 189 homes form part of the council’s More Homes Better Homes programme which will see 1,000 new affordable homes for social rent built between 2017 and 2022.

Overall, the regeneration of Queens Quay will see 800 new homes built, along with a care home, retail unit, pub/diner, hotel and new public space with pedestrian access to the riverside and to the town centre and transport interchange. The proposed agreement would see the council receive a return on its investment as the site is developed.

Councillor David McBride, convener for housing and communities, said: “This decision is the next big step in the regeneration of Queens Quay and these 189 new homes will help breathe new life into this part of Clydebank. There is much still to be done in the drive to transform Queens Quay, but this is a significant moment in what is a vital project.”

Councillor Lawrence O’Neill, vice-convener for housing and communities, added: “We strongly believe that social housing will kick-start the regeneration of this area and we are therefore delighted to be able to agree the purchase of this land. The council officers who have worked so hard to reach this stage in the process deserve our praise and congratulations. And the hard work will continue to ensure we make this ambitious project come to fruition for the benefit of Clydebank and West Dunbartonshire as a whole.”

The council has committed £15.62m to the Queens Quay project to unlock the potential of the site for housing, leisure and retail opportunities.

A District Heating Scheme, which would utilise energy extracted from the river basin, is also being investigated. This could be used across the whole site and also for existing buildings such as West College Scotland and the council’s Aurora House offices.

Once the infrastructure works are complete, including repairs to quay walls and new basin decking along with the creation of a new road layout, the first phase of the development will be the new care home and health centre.