Glasgow resident hits out at fly-tipping spot behind Emirates Arena

The venue, also known as the Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, is hosting the 2022 Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup until Sunday.

It is the first international track cycling competition held in the city since December 2019 and will see athletes from across the world attend the East End facility.

However, a resident in the local area of Dalmarnock has slammed the council over the “eyesore” at the rear of the arena, saying this would probably not be allowed to happen in more “affluent” parts of the city.

Images show a trampoline, an armchair, a mattress, parts of an adjacent derelict fence, glass bottles and other litter strewn across the area.

“It's embarrassing. It's definitely not a good first impression of Glasgow,” said Dawn Elliott, who lives across the street on Springfield Road. 

“If you look at the other side of the arena, where the entrance is, it's nice, well kept, landscaped. It's just this rear side facing our houses that's really bad.

“But there are full glass walls where the cycling happens, which look out onto the dump.

“Morale is quite low. This was meant to be a legacy that was left after the Commonwealth Games but the council is just not interested.”

READ MORE: Glasgow is worst in Scotland for fly-tipping as hotspots revealed

According to the council, it has approved the sale of the land for social housing and is currently working to complete the transaction.

The local authority said it is looking at what measures can be taken meantime to improve the site in the shorter term.

Ms Elliot, 59, said she has witnessed people emptying the contents of their bins on the grass, as well as a business van dumping painting materials and setting them on fire.

She also claimed a section of the fence had been leaning against the nearby bus stop for months, after detaching as a result of last autumn’s storms.

After reporting the issue to Glasgow City Council in March, she claimed workers attended to remove the fence but then dumped it in the area.

“There's a lot of disabled people around here, there's a pharmacy just across the road, and a lot of people use it, so they couldn't even use the footpath.

“About eight workers came and I thought 'great that's them there to fix it' but no, they just ripped it down and threw it in and the rubbish is still sitting there just now. 

“It's horrible.”

Ms Elliott, who moved to the area seven years ago, said she had to call pest control on two occasions in the past year, as a result of the poor state of the area.

After getting rid of a mice infestation last year, she recently spotted signs of rats, with chewed drainpipes and holes burrowed in the walls. 

READ MORE: Glasgow gangs use M8 flytipping hotspot to dump waste laced with deadly asbestos

She said the problem would be driving residents out of the area, noting: “Quite a few people said ‘I think we'll just move out of here’. It's not good.

“I'm inclined to think if it was a more affluent area of Glasgow, that wouldn't be happening.

“We all pay for the services and it would be good for them to have some pride in the area and not leave it to be so rundown.”

In response, a spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The council has approved the sale of this parcel of land for social housing and we are working to complete this transaction.

“Bringing this area back into use as a plot for new homes will transform how this area is managed in future.

“We are currently looking at what measures can be undertaken to improve the site in the shorter term.”