Community gains control of popular green space
DELIGHTED campaigners have won their appeal to remove a clause allowing the council to take back part of the Children’s Wood and North Kelvin Meadow.
Uncertainty has hung over the popular green space in the city’s West End for many years as residents fought to stop the land being developed.
Last year, the
Children’s Wood charity, which runs the site, applied for a community asset transfer and was awarded a 25- year lease.
But a condition, included by Glasgow City Council, meant some of the land could be reclaimed if the local authority needed to build a nursery.
The charity’s representatives appealed the decision, in a bid to secure complete community control, and councillors have now ruled the clause should be removed.
Professor Niamh Stack, chair of the Children’s Wood, said: “In a time when everything is at sea, community anchors like that which the Children’s Wood provides are ever more essential.
“The Children’s Wood is so much more than just a physical space: it is a hub of community actions that can now be determined by, and for, that community.”
Teachers, climate campaigners, play specialists and residents all spoke in favour of removing the clause at a hearing on Monday.
Emily Cutts, director of the Children’s Wood, said: “We are lucky to have the Community
Empowerment Bill in Scotland and we couldn’t have achieved this result without it.
“I hope our historic agreement with the council inspires others to create and support outdoor community spaces for all to use, particularly with children in mind.”
At the hearing, a council officer said they wanted to include the clause so the land could be repurposed “if the need arose”.
He said a portion of ground could be used for an early learning facility to help meet the Scottish Government’s target of 1140 hours free childcare for all three and fouryearolds and eligible two- year- olds.
However, the council did not “predict a need” in the next three years.
“It is a bit of a moving target for us,” he added. “The demand might never manifest itself, but then again it may manifest itself.”
Ms Cutts said: “We’ve got a very strong sense of what more can we do to show the council this community wants to be empowered. For the last 25 years, our community has fought to prevent building on the land and invented creative ways to use this valuable community resource.”
Marguerite Hunter Blair, CEO of Play Scotland, which campaigns for the importance of quality free play, said: “This is a ‘ pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’ moment for everyone in the community who uses and supports the Children’s Wood.”