FUNDING of £132,000 to benefit heritage projects around Glasgow’s Canal is expected to be released by the City Council this Thursday.

The money, from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Great Space Scheme, is part of the £340,100 funding granted in 2018.

Match funding from partners has brought the budget to almost £520,000.

It allows organisations along Glasgow’s Canal to work together to ensure that local heritage contributes more to meeting social, environmental and economic objectives.

The Glasgow Canal Heritage project is being coordinated by the local authority with some activities being delivered through community organisations.

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The Glasgow Canal Co-operative who are delivering the Canal Festival and is  made up of local social, cultural, arts, sports and nature-based bodies- is a key partner. 

The project’s scope was developed in partnership with the Glasgow Canal Co-operative and Scottish Canals, and evolved out of local engagement undertaken in 2014 and 2015 for the two planning charrettes for Port Dundas and Woodside, Hamiltonhill, Applecross and Firhill.

Funding already allocated in 2018 and 2019 has supported the development of the Canal Festival, the Canal Stalled Spaces programme, and the Glasgow Canal Cultural Heritage and Arts Strategy and Action Plan.

The remaining part of the project has three components. The physical commission aims to support the delivery of physical artwork within the canal corridor costing £64,000.

A digital commission, worth £32,000, would support the development of an app to allow for visitors to engage with the heritage and development of Glasgow’s Canal.

The third aspect - the community ideas fund is a grant which would be used to support community groups to bring forward proposals that explore and unlock local heritage projects linked to the canal.

It will also recognise the overall aims and objectives of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Great Places project and the key themes emerging from the Glasgow Canal Heritage and Arts Strategy. This part of the project will cost £36,000.

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It is hoped the Glasgow Canal Heritage Project will be completed by December 2020.

Councillor Kenny McLean, city convener for neighbourhoods, housing and public realm said: “Glasgow’s Canal has witnessed a remarkable transformation over the past decade, with many people and a host of cultural, sporting and regeneration organisations calling the area home.

“The release of this final tranche of the Great Space Scheme funding will allow the fantastic heritage potential of the canal to be more fully realised, and continue the regeneration of the canal corridor and the wider North Glasgow area.”