Defence Online

Artist’s impressions of three major East Renfrewshire developments which form part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal have been released amid significant progress in recent months.Plans are under way to improve the road network between Barrhead, Newton Mearns and the M77, create a new train station near Auchenback and transform Dams to Darnley Country Park into a leisure destination at a total cost of around £23.5 million.The newly released images show how each of these projects could look once the developments are completed over the next three years.The £1m project to reconstruct the section of Balgraystone Road, opposite St Luke’s High School in Barrhead, is expected to start in Spring 2017 and be completed later that year.A new road will be developed which will provide access to the proposed new railway station, enable housing development and provide direct access to Dams to Darnley Country Park.In addition, Aurs Road – the main route from Barrhead to Newton Mearns – will also undergo a £7.5m redevelopment with two sections of road being realigned, a new roundabout created to provide access to a visitor centre and the replacement of a road bridge.The artist’s impression of the new train station and bus interchange also gives residents an insight into how this £11m project will look once completed in 2019.As a new stop on the Glasgow to Neilston line it is anticipated that this improved public transport provision will assist in providing residents with better access to jobs, services and communities.The improvements planned for transforming Dams to Darnley Country Park include developing a £4m visitor centre on the north shore of Balgray Reservoir.This will give visitors a stunning view of the Country Park as well as the opportunity to watch participants enjoying use of the wake board park which is also planned for the Balgray Reservoir in 2018.