The new community space called the Oatlands Gate Allotment is nestled between Old Rutherglen Road and the River Clyde, on the south side of Glasgow.

The handover to the community comes as Glasgow is asking all Glaswegians to get involved in its draft open space strategy consultation.

Councillor Liz Cameron, Executive Member for Development and Regeneration, at Glasgow City Council, said: “When planned well, open spaces enhance Glasgow’s sense of place and community bringing with them a vast array of social, economic and environmental benefits.

“I am delighted today to be able to handover this wonderful new community green space to local people, it is a tangible result of Glasgow City Council’s commitment to provide new and enhanced growing and community open spaces for local people.

“By protecting and enhancing our network of open space, we can help Glasgow to cut its carbon emissions and reduce our impact on climate change. It will also help with our ambitions to be one of the most sustainable cities in Europe through our Sustainable Glasgow partnership.

“We hope as many Glaswegians as possible can make their views known to us during this consultation. We want to ensure that Glasgow continues to be our ‘dear green place’.”

As part of the process to review its local development plan, Glasgow City Council have used consultants to produce a draft open space strategy.

Both consultations are being run in tandem and ask the public to help the council to give their views on how they want to see Glasgow develop and grow in the future.

These views will help inform each consultation and will be include in the final version of both the Open Space Strategy and Local Development Plan.

Both consultations run until the 12 December.  The final version of the Open Space Strategy is due for adoption in March 2012.

The 2961 square metre area of land at Oatlands Gate Allotment has been transformed from an abandoned bowling green which had become a weed infested wilderness into a community space with 22 plots.

The new allotment plots are now ready for the sowers and growers of Oatlands to take up their spades and hoes in order to produce their own flowers, fruit and vegetables.

The commitment to provide new and enhanced growing spaces throughout Glasgow is enshrined within the GCC Allotment Strategy. This new addition has been funded by Glasgow City Council’s Development and Regeneration Service and project managed by Land and Environmental Services and will provide a welcome addition to an area where demand currently exceeds supply. 

The draft open space strategy consultation document focuses on six key themes. These will inform the Council’s future approach to the function, management and delivery of open space across the city. They are:-

1 Place setting for improved economic and community vitality;
2 Health benefits and well-being;
3 Creating connections;
4 Improving ecological quality;
5 Enhancing natural processes and generating resources; and
6 Managing the micro-climate.

To find out more about the values and issues being raised in this current consultation and what they mean for Glasgow, you can visit:
/en/OnlineServices/Environment/GOSS.htm

To find out more about the consultation on Glasgow’s local development plan, you can visit:  /en/Business/DevelopmentPlan/

Sustainable Glasgow is a city-wide partnership to make Glasgow one of the most liveable and sustainable cities in Europe. It brings together partners from the public and private sectors to work with citizens, communities and businesses. The city is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 30 per cent within 10 years and building a greener and more sustainable future for Glaswegians. The unparalleled strategic approach taken by Glasgow will help to create jobs and boost the economy, tackle social issues including fuel poverty and regenerate the city. For more information on Sustainable Glasgow visit - www.sustainableglasgow.org.uk/