Clyde Naval Heritage (CNH), the Scottish charity committed to preserving and promoting the Clyde’s historic shipbuilding legacy, has appointed The Tricolor Collective as its Lead Development Partner. Tricolor, an award-winning consultancy specialising in heritage-led regeneration and cultural innovation, will lead the next phase of project development, business planning, and strategic fundraising to bring the Clyde’s naval legacy back to life.
“We are delighted to be working with Tricolor,” said David O’Neill, CNH Founder. “Their expertise in transforming ideas into fundable, impactful projects will help us take Clyde Naval Heritage to the next level. The Clyde’s shipbuilding heritage is a powerful symbol of Scottish innovation, craftsmanship, and industrial strength. We intend to harness that legacy to drive the regeneration of a region that has seen significant decline. Our immediate goal is to bring the former HMS Ambuscade (PNS Tariq) back from Pakistan to the Clyde, where she was built. We have a lot of work to do and we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Tricolor. The appointment of Tricolor signals a step-change in ambition: from preserving a ship to catalysing a major cultural and tourism destination with global relevance”
The Clyde Naval Heritage project aims not only to preserve vessels but to reinvigorate an entire region through innovation in heritage storytelling, community engagement, and economic regeneration.
Tricolor, the visioning and heritage funding consultants behind the Maritime Hull regeneration project, bring a unique blend of strategic, creative, and community-driven expertise to Clyde Naval Heritage. Their approach combines place-based regeneration with high-impact fundraising, immersive storytelling, and inclusive skills development. From securing major capital investment to creating transformative visitor experiences and hands-on training opportunities, Tricolor specialises in turning heritage into a catalyst for economic renewal and social value.
“We see Clyde Naval Heritage as one of the UK’s most exciting cultural infrastructure opportunities,” said Sarah Dowd, Founding Director of Tricolor. “Our vision is to create a dynamic, inclusive, and future-facing heritage destination anchored by the Ambuscade / Tariq and innovative multi-dimensional immersive access to the global maritime story. This is a global project – linking the Clyde’s proud naval past to a new story about community, resilience, and renewal. It’s about bringing Scotland to the world and the world to Scotland and we have some exciting international partnerships currently being formed. Our work also seeks to champion sustainable maritime innovation, embedding conservation within a wider circular economy and environmental research agenda.”
The Clyde’s shipbuilding history spans centuries, evolving from the construction of medieval fishing vessels to becoming one of the world’s most important industrial shipbuilding centres. The Clyde Naval Heritage project was established to raise public awareness of this remarkable maritime legacy and to build a collection of historically significant ships constructed on the Clyde, which flows through Glasgow and into the Firth of Clyde.
The first ship anticipated to be returned to the Clyde by CNH will be the former HMS Ambuscade, a Type 21 Frigate that served during the Falklands Conflict. Following her retirement from the Royal Navy, she spent a further thirty years in active service with the Pakistan Navy as PNS Tariq. She was finally decommissioned in 2023 after nearly five decades at sea. Later this year, the ship will make the 6,000-mile journey from Karachi back to the Clyde, where she will be preserved as a floating museum and educational centre.
Further project phases include the creation of a Clyde Historic Dockyard — a new maritime heritage destination combining cultural programming, community co-creation spaces, naval innovation showcases, and heritage skills hubs, contributing to the Clyde’s long-term economic and social regeneration.
For more information about Clyde Naval Heritage, visit www.clydenaval.org.
To learn more about The Tricolor Collective, visit www.tricolorassociates.co.uk.
Notes for Editors
For interviews, hi-resolution images, or further information, please contact:
David O’Neill
07957 121918
david@clydenaval.org
