No Reopening Date for a Number of Glasgow Venues

The council has frustrated campaigners by failing to announce reopening dates for a number of public facilities including Couper Library.

Image: Glasgow City Council

By Sam Doak

Glasgow City Council  is yet to announce reopening plans for a number of public facilities located in the Southside and across the city more widely. The council and Glasgow Life, an organisation that fulfills a number of functions on its behalf, have attracted widespread criticism from many who are concerned about the future of public amenities in Glasgow. 

Among the venues yet to be reopened is Couper Library in Cathcart. It is currently one of nine libraries in the city that are not currently scheduled to reopen. Pollokshields and Langside Library, both of which were closed from early last year, reopened in late August. 

The council has been under a fair amount of scrutiny in recent months as many Glaswegians have become concerned about its commitment to maintaining public venues. A plan to transfer ownership of a number of public facilities to community groups has been particularly controversial and has resulted in a number of demonstrations in recent months. 

In late July, hundreds of campaigners marched from the St Mungo Museum to the People’s Palace on Glasgow Green to demand the reopening of public facilities and the cancellation of the council’s planned community asset transfers. This was followed by an action outside of Couper Library, at which campaigners expressed their frustration at the council’s failure to take concrete steps towards reopening the venue. 

The council has been keen to point out that the majority of libraries across the city have been  reopened following their closures during the pandemic. Glasgow Life, which saw its operating income fall by £38 million in this period was allocated £100 million of council backed funding for this purpose.