Go-ahead for council lease of pitches

SPORTS pitches at Jordanhill can be leased by the council from the University of Strathclyde, councillors have decided.

A 25-year deal, at £1-per-year, has been approved to ensure the Southbrae Avenue land can continue to be used by local schools and the community.

The university has sold a large part of the campus to CALA Homes for house building, a council officer said.

The three grass pitches will be protected. Two will be ran by the council, with Glasgow Life acting as the booking agent, while the other is already leased to Jordanhill School.

It is estimated the cost of managing and maintaining the pitches will be £16,000 per year, which will come from the council’s education department’s budget.

The council officer said: “At present there is a shortage of good quality grass pitches across the city.

“This gives us, as a council, the opportunity to protect that use for the schools and the community.

“There is a concern that if we didn’t do this, the pitches might be used or taken up by a private sports club.”

Councillor Ken Andrew said: “This is a good news story and is a good example of a planning condition that released land for building but actually maintained what is a really good sports facility.”

But Councillor Jim Kavanagh, who was supportive of the plan, had concerns about the pressure on council services. He said: “The resources to pay for this maintenance, I don’t think is there.”

The Labour councillor did not think £16,000 was enough to cover the maintenance and had “grave reservations about our ability to maintain the facility”.

The councillor officer said maintenance could be outsourced if there wasn’t the capacity, but the first opportunity was always given to council staff. He added costs had been verified and could be managed within existing budgets.

Glasgow’s planning committee approved the university’s plans to redevelop the campus in 2013 but attached a condition to protect the pitches.

In 2015, it was agreed the land could be used to support a “school of rugby” at the nearby St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. The lease will now be concluded between council officers and the university.