Claypits wins Great Place 2023 at The Urbanism Awards
We are delighted to share that Glasgow Claypits has won the Great Place 2023 award at The Urbanism Awards.
LUC worked alongside Scottish Canals and partners for a number of years bringing this project to life. Less than 1km from Glasgow city centre, the project is helping to regenerate disconnected and disadvantaged communities in North Glasgow.
Following its completion in 2021, The Claypits has served as Glasgow's only inner-city Nature Reserve. Through improvements in access to an underutilised green space and encouraging more active lifestyles through walking, cycling and play, it supports the health and wellbeing of the local community.
Now an important semi-natural green space, Claypits is accessible to its 75,000 local residents that live within 20 minutes' walk of the site.
The Claypits Local Nature Reserve has transformed derelict, post-industrial land into a valued community asset. It demonstrates exceptional sustainable design and climate adaptation, with its ‘smart canal’, sustainable urban drainage, and measures to enhance biodiversity. Beyond its strong environmental credentials, the project greatly promotes connectivity, permeability, and legibility within its urban context. All this is being achieved through close collaboration with local communities and between the various project partners.
Duncan McLeanDirector of Landscape Architecture
I was very proud to represent the Scottish Canals, the Claypits Community Group and all the project partners at the Academy of Urbanism Awards in London. I'm sure I speak on behalf of everyone when I say how delighted we all are that Claypits was named winner of the Great Place category. Although the award rubber-stamps what many of us already know - that Claypits is a great place - it is heart warming to receive recognition from external parties. Thank you to the Academy of Urbanism for taking the time to visit Claypits, for the positive feedback and for promoting the project through the awards process. The sonnet by Ian McMillan is also something for us to treasure.
Francis NewtonLead Assessor
