The concerns of the South Lanarkshire action group (see below) appear to be shared right at the heart of government. Before he was appointed Deputy Education Minister, Robert Brown, Liberal Democrat list MSP for the west of Scotland, was “increasingly worried about the continued threat to, and loss of, Glasgow’s green spaces”.
Mr Brown added: “Developers are targeting football playing fields, bowling greens and tennis courts, as well as smaller grassed areas and gap sites across the city. In fact, the phenomenon is common to many towns and cities across Scotland.”
He also observed: “It seems that council planning committees in Glasgow are not as rigorous as they should be in enforcing planning and conservation protections . . . Indeed, a coach and horses has sometimes been driven through these planning protections.”
