The eye-catching ‘whalebone’ arches which have appeared adjacent to Pollok Shopping Centre will cover the spectacular Winter Garden of Silverburn.

Almost half way through the construction of the 1 million square foot, upmarket, shopping centre, the erection of the Glulam arches – laminated larch wood - and smaller, metal ones at the bus station, show how fast the £350 million project is moving.

Apart from garden space, the Arches will incorporate a variety of quality restaurants so that the area will become a ‘dining experience.’

More than 450 people are currently working on the site, with a proportion of them being local people thanks to Greater Pollok Working Partnership.

All of the employees have recently been given the opportunity to sign up for courses on site which will build up their skills. ‘This could be IT, languages, health and safety or other things people would like to do,’ said Mark Pippard, Senior Construction Communities Manager for Bovis Lend Lease Ltd.

Once the interests have been registered, the learning partners will provide the appropriate courses on site so that individuals can spend an hour after work developing new skills.