Plans to overhaul former oil terminal could create 980 jobs

Proposals to create an industrial unit at a former Exxon site in West Dunbartonshire could create 980 full-time jobs by 2035.

A planning application for the £34m project in Bowling – which includes business, office space and a new link road at Dunglass Oil Depot on Dumbarton Road – has been submitted to the local authority.

The plans also include the renovation of the A82 and A814.

The Bowling oil terminal was developed in the 1920s and was decommissioned in 1997. The site was cleared in 2001 and has largely been unused since that date.

The facility, which was previously occupied by the Esso Petroleum Company, was at its largest and most active during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Last year Esso was granted planning permission to clean up the former toxic oil site and it planned to sell the land to West Dunbartonshire Council.

The redevelopment of the site now forms part of the Glasgow City Region’s City Deal.

When the project is completed, it is expected it will provide 44,550 square metres of industrial and commercial floorspace and up to 980 full time jobs over the next 15 years.

Its redevelopment is expected to provide a platform for major industrial and commercial development, while at the same time, providing road and infrastructure improvements to relieve pressure and provide an alternative route to the A82.

An office and industrial development is proposed to be located in part of the site to be known as Eastfield, with business in Centrefield and storage and distribution in the Westfield area.

Landscaping, open space, green corridors and public realm works have also been incorporated throughout the development.

The masterplan also includes a new link road, with upgraded A82 and A814 access junctions alongside a railway underpass and overbridge.

A heritage area has been identified around Dunglass Castle, which will include a protection zone to ensure the listed structure and its setting are not compromised as the site develops and evolves.

Story by local democracy reporter Catherine Hunter