£27m restoration cash green light for Burrell
MORE than £27m of council funds are to be put towards refurbishing one of Glasgow’s most well-known tourist attractions.
Councillors approved funding of up to £27.3m to restore the Burrell Collection in at the executive committee yesterday morning.
Committee members heard how the attraction has fallen in to such a state of disrepair that many of its artefacts are under threat of damage, and visitor numbers have “fallen dramatically in recent years”, thought to be due to the site’s poor condition.
Archie Graham, Labour councillor and chairman of Glasgow Life, put forward the case for funding and said: “This is one of the finest collections in the world.
“We have now finalised the cost to £66m. We need to approve £27m from the council to get the project completed.”
Councillor Graham added that currently some of the artefacts are being displayed elsewhere in the city, with plans to move more of the venue’s items to the Museum of Religion while refurbishment takes place.
It is hoped once the project is finished, 90 per cent of the collection will be available for the public to view.
A “master plan” for Pollok park was also up for discussion, with Labour councillor Alistair Watson suggesting the nearly-completed Pollok Hydro scheme, which will generate energy from flowing water, could be used to power Pollok House and the Bur- rell Collection premises.
Green councillor Martha Wardrop added that while she welcomed the refurbishment, she was concerned about the overall plans for Pollok Park and urged cycling access to be made more of a focus, along with the existing plans to improve access for cars and pedestrians.
The committee also approved the submission of a round two Heritage Lottery fund application, to help securely more cash for the scheme.
A total of £33m is planned to be invested by the council, while the additional £33m will be applied for through Heritage Lottery and Government funding.
The council hopes the upgrade will be completed by 2020.