Golf courses in Glasgow could be reforested in bid to make city greener

Glasgow City Council will consider the plans

Earlier this year Glasgow City Council announced a climate emergency, and a goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Alongside this plan, it also launched a consultation on the future of six of its public golf courses which provide key green spaces in Scotland's most populated city.

Local authorities across Scotland are struggling to find ways to make other uses of golf courses - public and private - as participation in the sport declines.

Now, a group of councillors has called for the courses - including the city's Lethamhill and Linn Park golf courses - which are both 18-hole, to be turned into forests, wetlands or even allotments if they shut.

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Just outside Glasgow, an old club at Fernbrae, near Castlemilk, has been transformed into a new urban park, complete with new woods and a natural wetland that serves as a crucial flood defence.

About 17 per cent of Glasgow is currently trees and authorities want to see more, with planting planned at the former King's Park Golf Club.

In a major document still under consideration, the council's climate emergency working group said: "Depending on the outcome of the current public consultation into the future of

Glasgow's public golf courses, it may be that some of these underutilised sites are also repurposed for food growing, tree planting or as a carbon sink."

Martha Wardrop, the working group's chairwoman, stressed that even if the courses stayed open there was a lot that could be done to make the greens greener.

Councillor Anna Richardson, who leads on climate issues for the council, said: "Increasing our tree planting programme is an area where we believe quick progress can be made.

"But there is already a substantial amount of tree planting going on in the city that contributes to Glasgow's positive record on carbon reduction.

"Last year, the council was involved in planting 7000 trees as part of various initiatives in existing woodland, parks and play areas.

"Extensive tree planting is now also an intrinsic part of new housing developments in the city as developers seek to create the kind of environments that appeal to incoming

householders.

"We are also targeting vacant and derelict land as places where planting can take place, especially where there is little prospect of development in the short or medium term.

"Many of these lots blight communities but planting can go hand in hand with better management of spaces."