LAND at Stockingfield Junction – where a new foot bridge is planned – will be sold to Scottish Canals.

Council chiefs have agreed to the principle of an off-market disposal of 3.39 acres, which is bordered by Ruchill golf course and the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Terms of the deal are to be signed off at a later date.

The decision was made by council officers in July under delegated powers, due to the coronavirus outbreak, and noted by councillors at a meeting yesterday.

Back in February, Scottish Canals' bid to build a bridge over the canal for pedestrians and cyclists was approved by the city council.

It has been planned to provide a traffic-free link between three communities in the north of the city – Maryhill, Gilshochill and Ruchill.

A council report stated: "The subject is being sold in connection with an infrastructure-led regeneration scheme, led by Scottish Canals with the support of Glasgow City Council."

The land – to the south of the proposed bridge – will be "enhanced through soft and hard landscaping, the installation of seating areas and the development of a network of footpaths" leading to and from the bridge.

It will remain available for use by the public.

Scottish Canals' scheme is aimed at encouraging active travel and providing safer routes to facilities and schools by reducing exposure to traffic.

It hopes the bridge will become a 'landmark', with the 'spire' of the twin-span, cable-stayed suspension bridge, which will light up at night, towering 100 feet over the waterway.

The plans stated: "The new crossing will allow pedestrians, runners, cyclists and people making every day journeys to cross over the canal rather than having to negotiate the existing Lochburn Road footways under the canal aqueduct which are sub-standard and potentially hazardous."

Catherine Topley, chief executive of Scottish Canals, previously said: “In recent years, Scottish Canals and its partners have driven an incredible transformation of the Glasgow Canal, bringing real benefits to the communities on its banks.

"The creation of the Stockingfield Bridge marks the next exciting step in that story."

She described the bridge as the "missing link in the canal’s towpath network".

There has been funding for the project from Sustrans and the Glasgow City Council Vacant Derelict Land Fund.