Council bosses have been criticised for the length of time derelict land in the city is lying unused after it finally concluded the sale of a site that has been empty for at least 15 years.
The derelict land in the Southside of Glasgow will now be transformed into a new housing estate, after councillors agreed to sell the land at Kennisholm Avenue to the Glen Oaks Housing Association who plan to develop 50 new builds.
During a committee meeting on Thursday council bosses were challenged over the over the length of time it had taken to sell the land.
Council members were advised that in order to qualify for funding from the Scottish Government to develop an empty space, the land needs to have been vacant for at least 15 years.
Councillors were taken aback at this revelation, with Labour councillor Hanif Raja telling the committee this timescale wasn’t acceptable for the 21st century.
He said: “I am quite shocked to hear that land needs to be empty for at least 15 years before we can do anything. There is so much land there waiting to be disposed of and the fact that it takes this long is shocking.
“I understand what the officers are saying but we need someone from the department to address this. I am not happy and something needs to be done ASAP.
“We are in the 21st century, it is not the 1920s, we need to move on because this is not acceptable to me.”
It was confirmed that the local authority has a portfolio of surplus property and land. The Scottish Government can grant funding to the local authority to develop empty spaces like these after 15 years.
The council is at liberty to dispose of the land any time they want but the qualification to use government money means it has to lie empty for 15 years.
Glasgow City Council has been lobbying the government to change this rule.
Council officer David McEwan said: “We do hold various different registers. There’s a difference on what’s classed as official vacant and derelict land because it has to be empty for a certain period of time before it hits the register officially.
“We do know that we have plots that are vacant and derelict but they don’t meet the criteria because they have not been in that state for the right amount of time.”
