POLLOK Park’s stables would be brought back into use if a funding bid to the UK Government is successful.

Glasgow councillors have agreed to request money from the government’s levelling up fund to restore the dilapidated A-listed stables.

Council leader Susan Aitken said the scheme would “bring new life” to the park’s stables and courtyard.

The deadline for the first call for applications to the fund - one of three announced by the Westminster government in March - is today.

Glasgow can submit seven bids, one for each UK constituency, with a maximum value of £20million per application.

Only one bid will be submitted to the first funding call to allow time for future proposals to be developed.

No date has been set for the third funding call, but the second is likely to be held in autumn.

Successful applicants from the first call are also set to be announced in autumn, with construction required to begin before March next year.

In total, there have been 24 expressions of interest for projects in the city, including eight in the Glasgow Central constituency.

Cllr Aitken said: “Given that we have one chance and one chance only to put forward a bid for that constituency, it was considered that rather than rushing to get one in for this first round, all the potential bids be considered together, looking towards either the second or third application round.”

The Pollok Park proposal will be the Glasgow South constituency’s application. It was backed by Glasgow Labour leader Malcolm Cunning, but he asked for more details on the plans.

“There has been huge controversy in the past about proposed developments in Pollok Park,” he said.

“I recall one of the worst public meetings I ever attended was about the proposal that existed a number of years ago to place GoApe within the park.

“It has to be said the good citizens certainly did GoApe. Anything to do with Pollok Park is of huge concern to the community and more widely to Glasgow.”

Cllr Aitken said the proposal was “extremely sensitive. “In actual fact, it is to restore the stables as stables, and use them as working stables.”

A council officer added, under the UK Government’s rules, the application will be published in the coming weeks, with commercial sensitivities redacted.

He said the project team has indicated the council “will retain control of the stables but there is ongoing engagement with other stakeholders, looking at management and delivery of services across the park”.

“That's the Burrell, the Country Park itself, the herds of cattle and potentially horses.”

Cllr Aitken said the fund’s timescales are challenging. Business cases, which would normally take a year to 18 months to produce, needed to be ready in weeks, she added.

“No one has ever come across this as a criteria for a funding before, and I doubt it will ever be used again,” the council leader said.

“It’s odd, however, it is the criteria that’s being used. We have seven chances; we need to make sure those are the best seven chances.”