Glasgow City Council has awarded Civic Engineers with a platinum certificate for our commitment to delivering community engagement benefits as part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal ‘Avenues’ project.

The transformation of the Glasgow Avenues seeks to dramatically improve the quality of the city centre environment, putting people at its heart. The project aims to improve connectivity, introduce sustainable green infrastructure, protect space for cyclists and pedestrians and improve the way public transport is accommodated, and we’re leading the design team delivering Block A of the scheme.

A key part of the project is close engagement and collaboration with the community, focussed on strengthening relationships and increasing local residents’ pride and sense of belonging within the city centre.

Since 2017, our team has delivered an extensive series of activities designed to support residents, students, local businesses and groups, including through jobs, apprenticeships, work experience placements and mentoring SMEs. Highlights for our team included:

• Sponsoring a Royal Society Short Industry Fellowship by Professor Vernon Phoenix, of the Centre for Water, Environment, Sustainability and Public Health at the University of Strathclyde, to support with testing the pollution removal of the sustainable urban drainage systems developed as part of the project. We collaborated with Vernon to construct a series of test rigs which are fed by surface stormwater from Argyle Street, to support Vernon’s work as he leads installing and testing the different rain garden designs. Vernon’s research will be published publicly, with the aim of sharing learnings across the UK and globally.
• Volunteering at Haghill Park Primary School in Glasgow and becoming a literacy mentor for the Caledonia Club, to help inspire a love of reading in pupils with one-to-one reading and group activities.

In recognition of our community engagement contribution, Glasgow City Council has recognised our team’s achievements with a Platinum Award – its top level of recognition for development projects.

Our Director Isla Jackson commented: “It’s been a privilege to work closely with residents, businesses and visitors to create a sense of place and pride for Glasgow city centre. Not only has their feedback shaped how the design of the project has evolved, but it’s been incredibly rewarding to work together to create new opportunities for learning and collaboration, support the growth of small businesses and mentor local students.

“The community response to the project has been inspirational, and we look forward to seeing how our work together will help the area to thrive in the future. Working with Glasgow City Council to foster strong community links has been a source of pride for our team, and sets a real example for regeneration projects across the UK.”

Mandy Dowling, Community Benefits Officer at Glasgow City Council, said: “The positive impact that close collaboration and engagement with the community can have in terms of social value cannot be understated. We’re grateful to the team at Civic Engineers for their long-term commitment and for helping us to spread the benefits of economic growth across Glasgow and Clyde Valley, ensuring deprived areas benefit from this growth, which is a key aim of our City Deal.”

Read more about our work on the project here.