Consultation planned on future of Glasgow's Queen's Park glasshouse

Glasgow City Council will launch a public consultation on the future of the historic Queen's Park Glasshouse.

Council officials have also pledged to try and find funding to ensure the B-listed building can stay open to the public.

Campaigners presented a petition with roughly 13,000 signatures to a council committee, demanding the local authority invest in the B-listed landmark.

The council announced in June the glasshouse would have to close in August as running costs were unsustainable. Weeks later they announced it would "remain open for the foreseeable future".

It was claimed at the meeting that the council has been trying to work with another organisation regarding the building.

Presenting the petition to councillors yesterday, campaigner Ben Kritikos said any moves to hand the glasshouse to a private tenant should be halted until a public consultation is held.

Speaking at the wellbeing, equalities, communities, culture and engagement city policy committee, he said campaigners "recommend the council retain and invest in the glasshouse as a publicly owned and council managed space."

He added: "The glasshouse was built with public money, paid for by generations of Glaswegians and it belongs to us.

"It is not a line in a spreadsheet. It is a place of memory, respite, wonder and belonging and we won't let it disappear through a decision that was never honestly put to the people who own it."

All council parties agreed to undertake a "public and transparent consultation" and report back to a committee within six months.

It was also decided the council would publish both feasibility studies and the investment requirements for the glasshouse.

They will also seek to identify funding sources to "bring the building and facilities back to an excellent standard and reinstate and restore the Queen's Park glasshouse dome".

The dome was removed for safety reasons in 2020.

Councillors also pledged to ensure "that any future use of the Queen's Park glasshouse maintains public access and enhanced public facilities".

Speaking after the meeting, councillor and MSP Holly Bruce said in a statement: "This is an important victory for the campaigners who refused to let this much-loved building be abandoned."

The Scottish Greens politician added that the glasshouse deserves "investment and imagination to give it a long-term future for more generations to come."

A council spokesman said: "Discussions have remained ongoing as we seek to identify a tenant, operator or partner that can support the building's long-term future use, while preserving its heritage value and public benefit for future generations.

"As part of this process, we have committed to engaging with local stakeholders, including local elected members and the Queen's Park Working Group.

"Any future proposals will be considered through appropriate council processes."

Story by Local Democracy Reporting Service reporter Sarah Hilley.