FOR almost as many years as Graeme Smith, I have watched with dismay Glasgow and Clydeside's apparent inability to properly celebrate its proud maritime heritage ("A martime heritage centre would be a tremendous asset for Glasgow", Herald Agenda, October 5, and Letters, October 7).

If such a maritime centre were to be considered, what would be the required features of the ideal site for such a venture? The following would have to be satisfied: close to the new Riverside Museum, close to the River Clyde, close to major trunk road routes, close to public transport both local and national. Appropriate Clyde maritime connections would also be desirable.

The great irony at present is that circumstances have never been better to correct some of the many missed opportunities of the past. The above-mentioned requirements can all be satisfied - immediately. The only outstanding items are an appropriately sympathetic landowner, the co-operation of the museums and galleries section of Glasgow Life, a relatively modest sum of money, and, most importantly, the collective will, civic and private, to provide a proper Clyde Maritime Heritage Centre.

This miracle area is an already vacant site on the north bank of the Clyde at the mouth of the River Kelvin. A modest footbridge could connect it to the Riverside Museum and Glenlee. It is beside the Clydeside Expressway and close to the Partick rail, subway and bus interchange.

Incredibly, this site also has the most impeccable Clyde maritime credentials. Still extant as a listed and re-usable building are the 1885 offices of D & W Henderson, the shipbuilders. The same Henderson family had a ship-owning connection with the Glasgow-based Anchor Line. The previous shipyard owners were Tod & McGregor, the first to build only iron ships. They also had the distinction of building the first dry-dock in Glasgow, in 1858. While obviously filled in, it must still exist. Evidently when the old Grand Hotel at Charing Cross got in the way of the M8 it was quietly moved in small pieces to solve the reversed problem of this by-then surplus dry-dock. Perhaps both stone and dock could be re-cycled, thus providing a permanent berth for a suitable Clyde-built steamship. The Glenlee would be most appropriate.

The question requiring an answer is: Will the people of Clydeside, together with those in authority, have the good sense to grasp such an opportunity now and make it happen?

David B Price,

5 Cedarwood Court, Cardross.