Tories appeal for council to renovate Glasgow’s Winter Gardens

Calton councillor Robert Connelly is urging Glasgow City Council to submit a bid for UK Government Levelling Up funds in order to address the “crisis conditions” at the Winter Gardens at Glasgow Green.

What’s wrong at the Winter Gardens?

It comes after photos released earlier this month showed the East End attraction to be in a severe state of disrepair, with a once thriving ecological ecosystem having been replaced by rotting vegetation and dead plant life.

How would the funds be used?

The first tranche of successful levelling up bids were announced in October and included a £13 million investment to transform Pollok Stables and Sawmill into a net-zero heritage centre.

Councillors and campaigners are now asking the council to include renovation of the Winter Gardens in future funding applications in order to save the cherished community institution.

Glasgow City Council says the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens has always been on the list of potential projects for funding, but councillor Connelly is asking for action to be taken sooner rather than later.

He said: “The Leader of the council promised that the Winter Gardens would be maintained for the community of the East End of Glasgow.

“The Winter Gardens is to be an ideal candidate for the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund which is investing £4.8 billion across the UK and I’m calling on Glasgow City Council to put a bid into this for the Winter Gardens.

“The Levelling Up Fund could see significant investment brought to this venue to return it to the world class status that it deserves.

“It would be neglect of the highest order if the SNP let this opportunity to invest in the Winter Gardens pass the city by.”

Will the council apply for funding?

Glasgow City Council has confirmed it will apply for funding, and the process of deciding which bids to submit is something that members are directly involved in.

A spokesperson for the council said the funding call for the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens will refurbish both to restore the building’s potential.

If successful, funding will play its pivotal role as a local amenity in one of Glasgow’s most deprived neighbourhoods, as Glasgow’s Local History Museum and as an integrated part of Glasgow’s events infrastructure.

The restoration will ensure this invaluable heritage asset can be maintained and preserved for future generations, paving the way for its sustainable future.

The spokesman said: “The premises has already been identified for a potential bid to the fund – but the government has yet to publish details of the second funding round.”

An update will be provided to members in due course.