Peel Waters Starts Infrastructure Works at Yorkhill Quay. Glasgow’s Clyde Waterfront Finally Moves from Vision to Delivery

Michael Ghobrial
2 days ago
6 min read

Peel Waters has officially started on a major package of infrastructure works at Yorkhill Quay in Glasgow, marking the first on‑site construction activity for one of the city’s most talked‑about waterfront regeneration projects. The enabling programme, valued at £3.75 million, will put in place the roads, utilities and public realm needed to support more than 1,100 new homes, a hotel, leisure uses and commercial space along a key stretch of the River Clyde. For Glasgow, it is a visible sign that the long‑promised Glasgow Waters masterplan is beginning to materialise on the ground.

Project Overview

Yorkhill Quay is one of four neighbourhoods within the wider Glasgow Waters masterplan. The site spans approximately 13 acres on the north bank of the Clyde between the Riverside Museum and the Clydeside Distillery.

Master‑developer: Peel Waters
Project: Yorkhill Quay infrastructure works, part of Glasgow Waters
Location: North bank of the River Clyde between the Riverside Museum and The Clydeside Distillery, Glasgow
Contract value (infrastructure phase): £3.75 million
Overall development potential: More than 1,100 homes, a 200‑bedroom hotel, commercial space and leisure uses including a major leisure attraction
Site area: Approximately 13 acres within a larger Glasgow Waters masterplan boundary
Programme for infrastructure works: Start on site March 2026, completion scheduled for December 2026

Once the enabling works are complete, the site will be fully serviced and accessible, unlocking the delivery of the main residential and mixed‑use phases.

Delivery Partners and Key Stakeholders

The Yorkhill Quay project brings together a familiar group of Glasgow waterfront stakeholders, experienced consultants and a Scottish civil engineering contractor with a significant track record in large‑scale enabling works.

Peel Waters: Master‑developer and funder of the £3.75 million infrastructure package, responsible for the Glasgow Waters vision and long‑term asset strategy
Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd: Main contractor for the infrastructure phase, appointed to deliver groundworks, utilities, access changes and the new promenade
Glasgow City Council: Planning authority and strategic regeneration partner, aligning Yorkhill Quay with its wider Clyde Mission objectives
Turner & Townsend: Principal consultant, overseeing cost, programme and project management for the infrastructure works
Keppie Design: Masterplanner and architect for the wider Yorkhill Quay development
Fairhurst: Civil engineer, responsible for infrastructure design, drainage and structures
Henderson Warnock Engineers: MEP engineer
OOBE: Landscape architect, designing the new waterfront promenade and public realm
McInally Associates: Planning consultant

Political backing has been explicit. Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Convener for Housing, Development and Land Use at Glasgow City Council, has described the works as a key part of the ongoing transformation of the Clydeside, emphasising improved access and stronger connections between major destinations on the river.

Construction and Technical Details

The infrastructure works at Yorkhill Quay are not cosmetic public realm. They are the essential groundwork that will make the rest of the masterplan buildable.

Key elements of the package include:

A new 3 to 4 metre wide riverside walkway that will run for approximately 400 metres along the Clyde. In later phases, this will be widened into a fully fledged boulevard with more substantial public realm.
Installation of new foul drainage, surface water drainage and fresh‑water supplies, sized to support the full build‑out of more than 1,100 homes, a hotel and commercial space.
Reconfiguration of the Riverside Museum roundabout and creation of a new access into the museum car park, improving traffic flow and enabling better integration between Yorkhill Quay and one of Glasgow’s major tourist attractions.
Improvements to connectivity between the Riverside Museum, Clydeside Distillery, Partick, Finnieston and the wider riverfront, including walking and cycling links that will plug Yorkhill Quay into established active travel routes on both sides of the river.
Planting and public realm measures, including semi‑mature trees and wildflower areas, that will form the first layer of a new landscape strategy along this stretch of the Clyde.

Advance Construction’s programme also includes a structured commitment to local employment and skills. As part of its contract, the firm will deliver four apprenticeships. Two will be provided through Action for Children’s Kickstart scheme and two through the Glasgow Tigers Programme, embedding training opportunities into the enabling works phase rather than waiting for later building contracts.

Timeline

The start of infrastructure works in 2026 is the latest milestone in a project that has been in planning and consultation for several years.

2019–2020: Peel launches public consultation on the Glasgow Waters masterplan, including initial concepts for Yorkhill Quay as a major residential, retail and leisure destination on the Clyde.
2020: Early proposals suggest around 1,100 homes, a hotel and extensive commercial and public realm, with Peel positioning Glasgow Waters as a key piece of Clyde waterfront regeneration.
2022–2024: Glasgow City Council grants planning permission in principle for Yorkhill Quay, followed by full planning consent for a low‑carbon community featuring more than 1,100 homes, a hotel, leisure facilities and public open space.
July 2024: Full planning consent is confirmed for the 1,100‑home Yorkhill Quay development, including a 200‑bedroom hotel and major leisure use, as well as new walkways, cycleways and “river rooms” along the promenade.
Early 2026: Peel Waters announces the appointment of Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd to deliver a £3.75 million package of infrastructure works at Yorkhill Quay.
March 2026: Official start‑on‑site event marks the commencement of groundworks and infrastructure installation.
December 2026: Target completion date for the infrastructure phase, after which vertical development of homes, hotel and commercial buildings can proceed.

The sequence underlines an important point for major regeneration sites. Years of masterplanning and consent work are often followed by comparatively modest‑looking enabling contracts, without which the headline building phases simply cannot start.

Strategic Importance

Yorkhill Quay is not an isolated project. It is a pivotal part of Glasgow Waters, Peel’s long‑term vision to transform a swathe of derelict and underused land along the Clyde into a connected, mixed‑use urban district. The infrastructure contract signals that this vision has moved beyond CGI and committee papers into tangible construction activity.

From an urban perspective, the new 400 metre promenade and associated active travel links will do as much to change how people experience this part of the river as the future apartment blocks and hotel. Connecting the Riverside Museum and the Clydeside Distillery with a continuous, high‑quality waterfront route starts to stitch together a series of currently disconnected destinations. It also reinforces the Clyde Mission agenda, which seeks to revive the river as a central economic and social spine for the city.

Economically, the enabling works are a relatively small investment compared to the value of the development they unlock. More than 1,100 homes, a hotel, leisure uses and commercial space will generate construction employment, long‑term jobs and new council tax and business rates flows. Politically, the start on site gives Glasgow City Council a visible win in its efforts to show that major waterfront regeneration is genuinely progressing rather than perpetually “in planning”.

For Peel, Yorkhill Quay is a test of its ability to replicate successful waterside regeneration models from other cities and adapt them to Glasgow’s specific context. The company’s track record at places such as Liverpool Waters and Salford Quays sets expectations high. Delivering the infrastructure phase smoothly and transparently will be critical to maintaining confidence among local stakeholders and investors.

Writer’s Opinion

There is a temptation to see a £3.75 million infrastructure contract as a footnote to a £300‑plus million regeneration scheme. That would be a mistake.

In reality, infrastructure phases like this are the hinge on which large masterplans turn. Without the foul and surface water upgrades, without the reconfigured access and without the first iteration of the riverside promenade, the much‑publicised homes and hotel cannot sensibly come forward. If this phase slips or is poorly executed, every subsequent phase becomes harder, slower and more expensive.

Yorkhill Quay also illustrates the uncomfortable truth that many of the UK’s most prominent regeneration sites are still, in 2026, largely about enabling works rather than completed neighbourhoods. That is not a criticism of Peel or Glasgow City Council. It is a reflection of how long it takes to move from a derelict riverfront to a functioning urban district, particularly when viability, infrastructure deficits and environmental constraints all weigh heavily on the numbers.

The test for Glasgow Waters will not be whether this infrastructure package finishes on time in December 2026. It will be whether, five to ten years from now, people can walk a continuous, active, well‑lit promenade along the Clyde between the Riverside Museum, Yorkhill Quay, Finnieston and beyond, passing homes, cafés, workplaces and public spaces that feel embedded in the city rather than bolted onto its edge. The works now underway at Yorkhill Quay are the first tangible step towards that outcome. They need to be treated with the seriousness that role deserves.