Unions call for Glasgow City Council-owned playground lease to be paused

Unions want “short sighted and dangerous” plans to hand over the management of a council-owned playground to a charity to be paused.

GMB Scotland and Unison have urged councillors to halt the proposal to sub-lease Linn Park adventure playground to The Yard, a Scottish charity supporting disabled children and young people.

They believe the deal is being pushed through without consultation and want guarantees about the playground’s future viability.

Councillors on the city’s contracts and property committee are being asked to approve a 20-year deal for the site at a meeting on Thursday.

Officials have said the move would allow The Yard to revamp and then reopen the facility by April next year. It has secured £500,000 from the Scottish Government for an operation in the city.

Glasgow Life, the council’s culture and leisure arm, currently has a lease for the playground until 2032, which is for children with additional support needs and their families.

The Yard would sublease the venue until Glasgow Life’s lease expires. From 2032, Glasgow City Council would take over landlord responsibilities.

In a letter to the committee, John Slaven, GMB Scotland organiser at the council, said: “The proposed outsourcing of this vital community facility is short-sighted and dangerous.

“Our experience is that these so-called ‘community transfers’ inevitably lead to the eventual downgrading or closure of facilities and loss of jobs once initial enthusiasm for the move has been exhausted.”

In a statement, Mr Slaven added: “This proposal is unusual but one the council seems intent on driving through without scrutiny or consultation.

“Staff have not been asked and the communities enjoying Linn Park and its facilities have not been asked.

“There has been no discussion of other options and there have been no assurances over the future of the playground or its long-term viability.

“Councillors must now pause, take a breath and allow those discussions to take place.”

Under the proposed deal, The Yard, which currently operates in Dundee, Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy, would pay a concessionary rent of £1 per year if asked.

Cllr Ruairi Kelly, SNP, the council’s convener for neighbourhood assets and services, has said the deal would safeguard the playground’s future.

He said the facility would “shortly be renovated before reopening as what will be a very valuable facility for disabled children and young people in the city”.

“The Yard has a strong track record of running similar playgrounds and access to funding that would otherwise be lost to this facility,” he added.

Glasgow Life has been approached for comment.