Queens Park Glasshouse – April 2018 update
There has been a lot a dialogue regarding the Glasshouse so here is some factual information with regards to the structure.
The maintenance of the structure has been minimal over a number of years which has not been ideal.
There are a number of reasons for this:
1/ Parks are not a statutory service from Local Authorities and that is UK wide!
2/ Budgets within Glasgow City Council are tight, last year the parks funding within LES was £200,000 to cover the running of 94 parks in the… city of Glasgow.
3/ What Glasgow City Council get from the Scottish Government to run Local Authorities also has a bearing.
4/ To have well-maintained parks they need to be resourced that comes back to money.
5/ The Glasshouse is a listed building – any work carried out on it needs to comply with planning and have listed building consent to carry out any repairs.
The main Glasshouse repair is for the dome which has structural defects – this is why the area has been closed off. The cost “is through the roof” pardon the pun. The cost is nearer to £400,000 from the original estimate of half that. The contractor & GCC have been exploring the best way to resolve the issues as this is a very expensive repair. If the dome is removed to make the structure safe as a tempory measure then the void left would need to be closed off from the elements until a permanent repair solution was carried out.
Friends of Queens Park
I have been working on a COOP Model for managing QP for a few years now and the next stage is carrying out a feasibility on the Glasshouse. FoQP shares the concerns which have been highlighted on Facebook & Twitter and are in discussions with GCC on a regular basis with regard to Queens Park.
Regards,
Stephen Docherty
Chair Friends of Queens Park
I had to search for information online as there was nothing on the city council website about the glasshouses. I recently visited them for the first time in 35years; I wished I hadn’t, and was shocked at the state of what little I could see. This is so sad as I remembered it as a glorious building full of wonderful specimens and expertly maintained. I have become a keen botanical illustrator but sadly found nothing of note here. I applaud your efforts as a group and condemn the years neglect of the city council.