From tropical paradise to a city wasteland
Historic glasshouse is left to rot
FOR more than 100 years it provided a stunning space for the people of Scotland’s biggest city to enjoy art, performances and stroll among tropical plants in its glasshouse.
But the Winter Gardens at Glasgow’s People’s Palace are now little more than dead stems and leaves.
The sad sight of the derelict glasshouse stands in stark contrast to the comments made by Lord Rosebery at the palace’s opening in 1889 when he said the venue would be ‘open to the people for ever ’.
It comes after SNP council leader Susan Aitken gave assurances the exotic plants would be ‘maintained’ following the attraction’s closure in 2018 after engineers said the structural integrity could not be guaranteed.
In 2019, she accused Labour
MSP Paul Sweeney of ‘making things up’ about plans for the Winter Gardens on Glasgow Green.
She also said: ‘The heating will stay on, the most important species have been moved to other glasshouses and the remainder will be maintained as required.’
However, yesterday Mr Sweeney shared the leaked image of the current state of the gardens. He said: ‘This is what the Winter Gardens looks like now.’
The future of the buildings is unclear, with the cost of repairs estimated at £5-£7.5million.
Campaign group Friends of the People’s Palace, Winter Gardens and Glasgow Green said it was ‘gutted and devastated’ to learn of the state of the attraction.
Tory councillor Robert Connelly tweeted: ‘Utterly disgusting and ridiculous that this has happened under the SNP administration.’
A council spokesman said: ‘All plants with horticultural value or significance were relocated. These pictures were taken during the removal of the remaining overgrown vegetation, much of which was causing damage to the fabric of the Winter Gardens itself.’