Glasgow council staff fears over events threat to protected Botanic Gardens

In recent years the West End park has hosted a major dinosaur show and successive GlasGLOW Halloween light displays, organised by Itison, who were responsible for the heavily-criticised Elfingrove event at Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

According to sources there is a “rich vein of disaffection” amongst workers at the Botanic Gardens about the environmental impact of events in a park that houses rare and endangered plants and trees.

The council say there is a balance to be struck between protecting the city’s public parks, and hosting events that “add to the cultural fabric of the city” and has dismissed accusations it is “privatising public spaces.”

Event organisers are also, now required to pay a parks levy, which brings in revenue for the council.

Read more: Secret emails reveal the truth about Elfingrove fiasco

A parks source said: “There is a rich vein of disaffection amongst the higher-minded staff of Glasgow Botanics, who are none too happy that the site, which is basically a living museum, is now a regular home to animatronic dinosaurs battering their tails off rare trees, and heavy lorries churning up ground, damaging drains etc.

“Particularly, as Glasgow has some other parks that could cope much better, albeit less atmospherically.”

The organisers of the TRSNMT festival, DF Concerts, have faced criticism for the environmental impact on hosting a a major rock festival on Glasgow Green.

The Glasgow Times told how Itison were hit with major restrictions before being given the green light to host the Elfingrove event at Kelvingrove Museum including a ban on Pyro, gas or chemicals including dry ice and helium or flaring or flashing lights.

The resulting event was heavily criticised by ticket holders who said it was little more than a tour round Kelvingrove with the lights out.

Read more: Line-up announced for Summer Nights Festival at Kelvingrove Park

A council spokesman said: “Events staged in our parks are hugely popular and add greatly to the cultural life of the city.

“Event organisers routinely approach us with a range of proposals for our parks and these proposals are always looked at on their own individual merits.

“In conjunction with the licensing process, we work closely with organisers to ensure events are well-managed and that any issues that may arise are dealt with appropriately.

“The larger events recently held within the Botanic Gardens, such as GlasGLOW have been family focused and have helped to encourage people into the park at otherwise quiet times of the year.

“As shown by the introduction of the environmental levy, we always seek to strike an appropriate balance between parks hosting large, commercial events and generating income that can support our green spaces for wider public benefit.”