Riverside Inverclyde has celebrated the completion of the refurbishment works at Greenock’s Custom House recently. The organisation that is charged with the economic regeneration of Inverclyde has celebrated the completion of this project as they mark their 10-year anniversary.
A ceremony was held at the lovingly-restored 200-year-old Georgian Custom House on the 3rd of November in order to celebrate both of these two milestones. The Provost of Inverclyde, Martin Brennan was in attendance at the ceremony in order to formally re-opened the building, and also unveiled a plaque that has been put up to mark the occasion.
Custom House has been upgraded by a team at Riverside Inverclyde, and the work will hopefully maintain the Georgian building for the current and future generations to use and enjoy. There were a number of other significant figures in attendance, including Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, Mr. Guy Clark, Chief Executive of Riverside Inverclyde, Fiona Maguire and the project architect from Elder & Cannon, Tom Connelly.
The restoration has taken six years and £6 million for Riverside Inverclyde to complete. The organisation has said that Custom House is the jewel in the crown of the area’s recent transformations. Riverside Inverclyde has been the driving force behind the renaissance in this area, with the creation of Riverside Business Park and James Watt Dock Marina. Other work carried out includes the water and wind proofing of the Sugar Warehouse which was initially designed by R Knipple and completed in 1886.
Going forward after the organisation’s 10-year anniversary, there are a number of other projects in the pipeline including the dedicated Food and Drink Incubator Hub, Baker Street which will take place in Greenock and the development of a new spur road into Port Glasgow Town Centre. Over the course of the last ten years, the organisation has obtained more than £73 million of direct investment from Inverclyde and a number of the sources in order to complete the work and has also managed to set up networks of construction companies and community hubs.
