Call to protect fossils heritage
THE condition of a visitor attraction housing internationally important fossils has caused concern for heritage bosses.
And more than 250 people have signed a petition calling for work to be carried out to stop further deterioration of the historic exhibits.
Fossil Grove in Victoria Park contains the 330 million year old fossilised remains of 11 tree fern stumps that were discovered in 1887 when a road was being cut across a disused quarry.
The fossils were left in place and covered by a building, making the site one of the first recorded sites for geotourism, which is described as sustaining the distinctive geographical character of a place.
Fossil Grove, which is maintained by the city council, is listed as a site of special scientific interest and the fossils are regarded as nationally and internationally important.
As a result, the local authority has to consult Scottish National Heritage on how it manages the site and take steps to conserve and improve it.
The petition, which will be considered by councillors this week, says in 2008 SNH assessed the condition of Fossil Grove as “favourable and maintained.”
But in December last year, the organisation rated its condition as “unfavourable and declining.”
Over the past decade, about 12,000 people a year from around the world have visited the attraction, which used to be staffed and open from Easter until the end of the October school holidays.
But earlier this year, a council cash shortage resulted in a decision not to employ extra staff to run it, reducing opening hours to only six hours a day at weekends.
An added problem is that the Victorian building, which is presently closed for repairs, is not suitable as a small museum and suffers from leaks and poor heating. This caused Scottish Natural Heritage to raise concerns about the conditions of the rare fossils and in response, the council hired a humidifier to improve conditions in the building.
A report to councillors says since 2011, improvement work costing about £43,000 has been carried out and Glasgow Building Preservation Trust was commissioned to prepare a bid for Heritage Lottery Fund cash.
A group set up to oversee the project decided the best course of action would be to demolish the existing building and build a new one at a cost of more than £2.5million.
But council bosses said it was unlikely they could afford their share of the scheme which could be as high as £500,000.
Instead, they are working with Scottish Natural Heritage to resolve the immediate short term problems that are causing the fossils to deteriorate and are looking at long term solutions to the problem.
The report says the council is aware of its responsibilities but long term options will have to take into account shortage of cash.