Glasgow environmental group set to get lease for old changing rooms in Queens Park

Old changing rooms at Queen’s Park recreation ground are set to be leased by an environmental group with plans for a community garden.

Council staff have recommended South Seeds is handed a 25-year lease at £750 per year.

It intends to create a fenced garden for local residents and provide skills workshops, exercise classes and gardening activities from the site.

Council papers also reveal the organisation would redevelop the changing rooms and have the option to sub-let a takeaway kiosk on the land.

The deal, for Queen’s Park recreation ground’s former changing pavilion and some green space surrounding the building, has been progressed under the council’s People Make Glasgow Communities (PMGC) programme.

That scheme was set up to allow community groups and third sector organisations to manage venues.

Cllr Ruairi Kelly, the council’s convener for neighbourhood services and assets, said the deal shows how the PMGC programme can “empower local people and organisations in terms of greater involvement in the delivery of community services”.

“South Seeds are a group who have been doing good community work and are now looking to bring new life to a building that has been unused for over twenty years,” he added.

A council report stated: “Previously used in connection with the adjacent sports pitches, the subjects have been out of regular use for more than 20 years and the site has been declared surplus by Glasgow City Council.

“South Seeds is an experienced local organisation that intends to enable people from the local community to live more sustainable lives by providing various activities including skills workshops and gardening activities.”

The community organisation aims to work with residents to improve the look of the area and lead more sustainable lives. Councillors will be asked to approve the deal at a meeting on Thursday. They previously agreed negotiations over a lease could begin.

In a report at the time, council officials said: “The organisation will manage capital works to improve the building and make it suitable for community use.

“Once operational, the organisation will provide activities from the building which engage the local community, such as skills workshops, exercise classes and gardening activities. Spaces will also be rented to local communities and a café is proposed.”