Major spruce-up aims to improve park life
PLANS for major investment to improve a much-loved green space in Barrhead have been announced.
East Renfrewshire Council is to carry out a series of upgrades at Cowan Park.
New seating, larger bins and improved signage will all be installed, with work to resurface paths also taking place.
In addition, the revamp will see the park’s popular lion sculptures being given a fresh lick of paint.
Cash is being provided through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda.
Work on the improvements is due to get underway in the coming months.
These latest upgrades follow other work at the park in recent times, including the restoration of its historic gate lodge, a revamp of the bandstand and refurbishment of public tennis courts.
Councillor Danny Devlin, East Renfrewshire’s environment and housing convener, said: “Cowan Park is a fantastic facility for Barrhead residents and those who come to visit the area.
“We’ve seen some great improvements over recent months, with the newly-converted gate lodge, tennis courts and renovated bandstand, but we’re committed to continually upgrading our public spaces, so I’m delighted that these improvement works will soon get underway.”
Last year, tens of thousands of pounds were invested by the council to upgrade some of the paths in the park and this latest cash injection will mean that work can be extended.
The decision on how the new funding should be spent was made through participatory budgeting.
This involves giving members of the local community the power to choose how public budgets are allocated.
All of the chosen projects were ideas raised by local groups and residents during a public consultation held at the end of last year.
Council chiefs received almost 2,000 contributions from the local community, both in-person and online.
The consultation also revealed strong support for restoring the park’s water fountain and increasing CCTV coverage.
Although the costs for these exceeded the amount of cash currently available, council bosses have said both projects could be revisited if “future funding opportunities” arise.
Councillor Devlin added: “Thanks go to everyone who had their say last year and helped us shape future plans for the park.”
For more information about the participatory budgeting process, visit www.eastrenfrewshire.gov. uk/PB.