IT has treated hundreds of thousands of patients but now demolition of one of Glasgow’s oldest hospitals has started.
The Western Infirmary, which was built in 1874, is being redeveloped by Glasgow University as part of a £1 billion expansion scheme.
The 14-acre site was sold to the university for £14 million as part of a historic land agreement that will see new buildings for health, business, chemistry and the arts and performing spaces.
The first £430m phase, lasting five years, will see the construction of new buildings, together with clearance of the Western Infirmary site and landscaping.
Among the first to be completed will be a learning and teaching hub, a research hub, an Institute of Health and Wellbeing, premises for the Adam Smith Business School, a base for the College of Arts, including performance spaces, and an upgrade of the Joseph Black Building.
A second phase of work is scheduled to start in 2023 on a new engineering centre, an “innovation quarter” to engage with local industry and a building for research into chronic diseases.
An estimated 2,500 jobs are expected to be created during the construction period, with the university promising that the development will bring significant community, economic, environmental and cultural benefits.
The principal and vice-chancellor, Professor Anton Muscatelli, has said: “These plans are about far more than investment in buildings.
“Our focus is on creating an inclusive and welcoming campus, fit for the 21st century and beyond, which will continue to attract the brightest and best students and staff from across the globe.”
The Western Infirmary was developed on land owned by the university as a teaching hospital and opened in 1874.
A clause was signed stating that if the hospital ever ceased to be a hospital, the university could buy back the site. In 2002, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board announced the hospital was to close, with services transferred to Gartnavel General and the South Glasgow University Hospital.
It finally closed its doors on December 6, 2015.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel