Glasgow's Winter Gardens and People's Palace to close over £7m repair bill

Two Glasgow tourist attractions are set to close at the end of the year following concerns over public safety.

Structural engineers have estimated that it will cost Glasgow City Council up to £7.5 million to bring the Victorian glasshouse up to an acceptable level of safety.

Primary safety issues stem from the Winter Gardens, which date back to 1898, but as the fire escape from the People’s Palace requires access to the glasshouse, it will also have to close.

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The local authority is said to be working on options to allow the People’s Palace to remain open independently of the Winter Gardens, however, as of yet, no solution has been found.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “The Winter Gardens will unfortunately have to close at the end of this year, due to concerns about the safety of the structure beyond that point.

“We are currently working on options to allow the People’s Palace to remain open independently of the gardens.

“At this stage, we do not know how long the Winter Gardens will remain closed. However, we estimate that investment of between £5m and £7.5m will be required to make it safe for public use.

“With that in mind, we are currently examining how we use both the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens.

“The aim is to secure a sustainable, long-term future for an iconic building in one of the city’s most-loved spaces.

“A full report of the plans will be submitted to elected members and the relevant committee in due course.”

Councillor Soryia Siddique said: “I’ve been contacted by residents concerned regarding the media announcement on the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens.

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“The People’s Palace in its entirety is an essential part of Glasgow. It is an integral part of Glasgow’s history and the administration must make every effort to preserve it.”

A spokesman for Glsgow Life said: “The Winter Gardens will unfortunately have to close at the end of the year due to concerns about the safety of the structure. We are currently working on options to allow the People’s Palace to remain open independently of the Gardens.

“At this stage, we do not know how long the Winter gardens will remain closed.

“However, we estimate that investment of between £5m and £7.5m will be required to make it safe for public use.

“With that in mind, we are currently examining how we use both the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens with the aim of securing a sustainable, long term future for an iconic building in one of the city’s most loved spaces.”

There is not believed to be any safety risk to those using the venue in the run up to its closure.