It’s hard to believe this was 38 years ago, but it was! In 1983 this is Clydeview Shopping Centre on Glasgow Road. I can just about make out Clydesdale Electricals and a queue forming outside the Abbey National. I was never a fan of Clydeview shopping centre mainly due to the fact that so many properties always had their shutters down. Seeing empty units gave Blantyre a feel of being unwanted or neglected in my opinion and even in 1983 i see several shutters down and a few ‘to let’ signs. It was a sign of things to come, despite other businesses in this location who made a success of it!
Now the eastern side, to the left of this picture is demolished, something many people were not opposed to. We have a coffee drive through to look forward to, one of two planned for Blantyre in the short term. However, for now Blantyre has been left with nothing there. A direct view from our main road over to Asda and its car park. It’s not Asda’s fault. The council’s actions in the 1970s are very much to blame for the lack of town centre planning in my opinion. Now the land is privately owned, there is little, if any scope for the council to intervene. Space should have been retained to create a community space. Something feels inadequate for a town this size…. a missed opportunity to create a wonderful town square, centre focal point of retail or at the very least accommodate the many small businesses in affordable retail space.
Personally, I think Blantyre’s redevelopment story is far from over and hope future generations are in a position to “fix this”.