Govan Graving Docks: New film reveals £125m plans to transform historical Glasgow landmark

A short film has been launched giving a unique insight into ambitious plans to transform the historic Govan Graving Docks on the River Clyde.

“Rising Tides: Govan Graving Docks Rebirth” by BAFTA Scotland award winning filmmaker Chris Leslie, outlines the wider vision of the multi-million-pound project and includes striking imagery and in-depth interviews with those involved in the plans.

That includes the local community, who are backing the creation of a new neighbourhood with plans for more than 300 homes and commercial units for new businesses, to complement the historic landmark.

The masterplan aims to bring new life to the area and its three docks, which have lain derelict for almost 40 years.

The project took a major step forward in February when planning permission was granted to allow ship repair works to take place on the site. Restoration works are now underway at the reopened dry Dock No1 on the TS Queen Mary.

Deirdre Gaughan, local resident and chairperson of Central Govan Action Plan (CGAP) said: “When the docks were open the place was thriving, so it was absolutely awful when the docks closed in 1988. I just know that this project can make Govan thrive again.”

Chris Leslie added: “For centuries, the phrase, ‘Glasgow made the Clyde, and the Clyde made Glasgow,’ has spoken to the city’s intimate connection with the river, capturing its romanticised legacy.

“But today, for many, the Clyde feels like a shadow of its former self—a still and silent divider rather than a unifying force. The shipbuilding era days that once defined it is long gone, and much of its rich heritage has been dismantled and discarded. To me, it’s a tragedy that the city has turned its back on the river and its history.

“So, when I heard about the plans to develop Govan Graving Docks – especially with the idea of it becoming a working dry dock again – I approached O’Donnell Brown (architects) and asked if I could tell this story. I knew it was a story worth documenting, not just for the site but for the city and the river’s future.”

The residential plans for 304 new homes on the southern edge of the site are currently the subject of a live planning application submission with Glasgow City Council. The housing will underpin the funding of the wider vision to create a new urban green space fit for the 21st Century.

Proposals are also moving ahead to eventually hand over 80% of the site to some form of community ownership trust.

The development is being led by New City Vision, whose chairman Harry O’Donnell said that unlike previous proposals for the docks, the new plans maximise a range of uses on the site.

He added: “The site has got many different components and some of these are reflective of comments and criticisms made against earlier applications.

“The team have tried to take on some of those criticisms and not just build some new houses on the site, but to try and reflect the area’s heritage as we try to create a new neighbourhood in Govan.

“There won’t be just housing, there will be places where people will be able to see things, there will be commercial activity, there will be new businesses created. So, there will be a hub which is still part of the fabric of Govan.”

Figures suggest between two and half and three million people will use the new Govan-Partick bridge every year, with a third predicted to visit and experience the transformation of the dock area.

They will be able to see the restoration of the historic TS Queen Mary, which was due to be scrapped before the reopening of Dock No.1.