Councillors are set to accept a £1.1m grant from the Scottish Government next week, which will allow regeneration plans to progress.
Springburn Winter Gardens. Image from Glasgow City Council
The derelict Springburn Winter Gardens will be turned into a “living ruin” with community growing areas after receiving a £1.1m cash boost.
Glasgow City Council is set to accept a Scottish Government grant next week, which will allow Springburn Winter Gardens Trust, a charity formed in 2013, to take forward the project.
The plan will “regenerate the A-listed Gardens from a derelict ruin, stabilising and partially restoring the building through structural repairs and conservation works”, according to a council report.
It will create “a ‘living ruin’ and vibrant community asset, including an ‘urban croft’ offering community growing areas and heritage learning”.
The report adds the scheme is expected to be complete by March 2027.
Springburn Winter Gardens in 1910. Image from Glasgow City Council
Funding for the revamp is coming from the Scottish Government’s regeneration capital grant fund, which aims to provide financial support to “deliver large-scale improvements to deprived areas”.
Projects can be delivered by community organisations but are submitted to the Scottish Government by councils or urban regeneration company Clyde Gateway. Bids are submitted from across Scotland.
Last month, it was confirmed that Springburn Winter Gardens would receive almost £1.13m.
Cllr Ruairi Kelly, SNP, the council’s convener for built heritage, will ask councillors to accept the money on Thursday. Ahead of the meeting, he said he is delighted the funding has been secured and congratulated the trust on its work.
“Far too much of the heritage of our communities has previously been allowed to fall into disrepair and preserving these important cultural and heritage assets is of vital importance,” he added.
Springburn Winter Gardens. Image from Glasgow City Council
“Hopefully if this can be coupled with wider park improvements it will make a huge difference for the whole area.”
When the funding was announced, Paul Sweeney, co-founder and chair of the trust, said the “breakthrough” funding had been secured after 13 years of “sustained effort” to save the “remarkable building”.
Mr Sweeney, Labour candidate for Glasgow Easterhouse and Springburn, added the trust is “building up match funding and hope to be able to fully fund the £2m initial ‘living ruin’ phase of the restoration project over the coming year”.
Springburn Winter Gardens was built in 1900 and was in use until 1983, when it was damaged in a storm. A planned demolition was stopped in 1985 when the building, Scotland’s largest glasshouse, was granted listed status.
Two other Glasgow City Council applications to the fund, for projects in the east end and Govan, were unsuccessful. Council officials and project partners are talking to the government and “hope to receive further, more detailed feedback”.
It is expected the 2027/28 funding round will be opened after next month’s Scottish Parliament elections.
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