IT was once the heart of the West Coast shipbuilding industry and helped pump engineering wealth into towns and cities.

Now the River Clyde is to be at the centre of a new revolution as efforts increase to turn the area around it into “an engine of sustainable and inclusive growth” that will kick-start the entire region’s economic recovery.

It’s hoped the move will benefit communities from Dunoon and Gourock to Glasgow.

Plans to start a “Clyde Mission” were unveiled back in January, when the State of the City Economy Conference heard of moves to attract new investment to the river corridor and draw in new private sector activity on the sites still sitting derelict after more than a decade of regeneration.

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That period brought the BBC and STV to Pacific Quay in Glasgow and saw the Riverside Museum grow up across the water. But gap sites remain in and around the city and beyond, despite ambitious projects like that at Queens Quay in Clydebank, which will see housing and more created on the site of its former John Brown shipyard where heat from the depths will be used to fuel homes.

But around 1000 acres of post-industrial land remains. Now the Scottish Government aims to generate new projects to improve the economy and the environment through its £10 million Clyde Mission Fund.

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “The river has great potential with its existing company and skills base and world-class universities on its doorstep. Despite these assets, areas around the river continue to suffer disproportionately from deprivation and have been hit hard by the pandemic.

“The Clyde Mission Fund will support projects that will create jobs, benefit places and communities and support Scotland’s environmental ambitions as we work with our partners to build a stronger, fairer, greener Clydeside.”

The funding will support capital projects like construction and environmental improvements, with another £25m to follow over five years from 2021 to support zero-carbon energy infrastructure and heat networks for residential and commercial premises.

Ministers hope the work will “capitalise on the unique opportunities and competitive advantage of the river and immediate surrounding area”.

In Glasgow, city leader Susan Aitken wants to find new ways to make the Clyde “more useable” and address flooding risks. A metro linking the city to Glasgow Airport – in Paisley – is also on the agenda, as is the development of more eco-power schemes powered by the waters.

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But Glasgow is only one local authority involved in the mission. The others include Argyll and Bute, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire, while Strathclyde and Glasgow universities and other Holyrood agencies are also on board.

Existing Clydeside projects include an advanced manufacturing centre in Inchinnan and a bioscience quarter in Govan. Close-by, property firm Bishop Loch Developments has announced plans to restore the former Govan Graving Docks.

That’s something that may be more familiar to members of the public than many others after the dock was featured by filmmaker Sam Mendes in his acclaimed war film 1917.

Appearing on the BBC earlier this week, Aitken said: “Practical, realisable stuff” is on the cards.

She went on: “We want to do it faster than we would have done previously, not wait years and years. Everyone’s talking about green recovery – this can give a green recovery.’’