Kelvingrove Park and Queen’s Park set to get new lighting

Kelvingrove Park, Cranhill Park and Queens Parks have been chosen as pilot testing grounds for safety reviews.

It follows calls for park routes to be lit up after residents were forced to walk through Kelvingrove Park at night during a COP26 police diversion.

Consultation on plans

Groups are to be invited to events hosted by charity Greenspace Scotland in the parks to discuss ideas for each one through a ‘placemaking’ process.

Matters being considered by the council include womens’ safety as well as how lighting could impact nocturnal species including owls and bats and its effect on stargazing.

Different groups will be invited to the events including those representing women suffering violence, organisations promoting biodiversity, the police, friends of parks, community councils and councillors.

A previous full council meeting recommended officials look at sensitive lighting solutions.

No straightforward answer

Councillor Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: “It was clear from the debate at full council that there was not a straightforward answer to the question of how we should approach the issue of lighting in our parks. Long term commitments have been made to protect the city’s biodiversity, but there is also no doubt that Glasgow’s parks should be accessible and safe for all users.

“We fully anticipate that lighting will be on the agenda at the different placemaking events. But we expect other measures such as design and maintenance that can address concerns about park safety will also be looked at. There is unlikely to be one-size that fits every park in Glasgow but testing out the views of stakeholders for the three pilot parks can show us a way forward.”

Explaining what placemaking is, the Langside politician said: “Placemaking is a process that encourages collaboration between different stakeholders and asks those stakeholders to find common ground for the benefit of their shared community.”

She added: “With Greenspace Scotland as hosts of the Placemaking events for the three pilot parks we have a chance to look closely at the range of options and look to achieve the right balance for the different communities that use these three open spaces.”

Next steps

The safety reviews for the three pilot parks will be discussed at the sustainability and carbon reduction committee next week.

A paper going before the committee said there is already lighting in some park areas including in multi-purpose game courts, on some paths, monuments, stone pillars and museums and leisure centres.

Games courts lighting is switched off at around 10pm to discourage use at anti-social times according to the paper.

The paper said: “In order to review our approach, it is intended to gather additional, locally specific, evidence, and to engage with the national greenspace charity Greenspace Scotland to support a series of Place Standard events in three pilot parks, so that findings can be brought back to this committee. “