Pollok Country Park land could be compulsory purchased for new car park

Glasgow City Council is planning to buy part of Nether Pollok playing fields as part of a project to cut down on car use in the centre of the park.

Two ash pitches would be converted into a car park under the proposal, but the land is not in council ownership.

Council officers say they are in talks with the owners, Pollok & Corrour, over a voluntary sale, however they are asking councillors to approve “preparatory legal work” on a compulsory purchase order.

A report states: “Prior to the restrictions due to the Covid pandemic, car users could access the park from different ends and were largely free to use all of the internal roads.

“The active travel plan will largely restrict vehicles to the periphery of the park thereby creating a better environment for pedestrians and cyclists within the park.”

As well as creating the car park, the council wants to improve the entrance and access road into the park.

Planning permission for the £5.4m active travel plan was granted in November last year, and includes an electric shuttle bus service and alterations to entry and exit routes.

It is intended to “largely encourage users of the park to arrive either via public transport or on foot or by bike”.

However, the council report adds it is recognised “that public transport might not be suitable for many visitors travelling some distance with families and therefore there needs to be some provision for car parking”.

The ash pitches are currently leased to the council by Pollok & Corrour as part of the lease for Nether Pollok playing fields, which runs until 2032.

An access road to the park via Haggs Road is owned by the council, but in order to widen the road the council needs to acquire adjacent land, which is also part of the playing fields.

Preparatory work for the project has already started as a building at 53 Haggs Road has been demolished to allow the entrance to be widened, which will lead to a “main feature gateway” being created.

Pollok Country Park was gifted to the city in 1967 and houses the Burrell Collection, which is under refurbishment. The collection, due to reopen in March, and other projects, including renovations to Pollok House, are expected to cause a “significant rise in visitor numbers to the park”.

The current access road to the Burrell building is expected to be widened to provide two-way traffic, but the council intends to restrict this route to blue badge holders and the new shuttle bus service only.