Friends of Newlands Park

Hi all,

Hopefully the worst of the winter is just about behind us as the first buds of spring are starting to show. We recently had our first quarter Friends of Newlands Park (FoNP) Committee meeting and below are some of the highlight’s/lowlights and updates on other park activities.

Pond: After a great deal of sustained canvassing, the clearing of the pond has been completed and Glasgow City Council (GCC) will hopefully move onto completing the path work once the weather improves. We are continuing to push GCC on this. We have an information board on the pond’s flora and fauna and a new bench ready for installation once the path is laid.

Tennis: Newlands Park Community Tennis Centre (NPCTC) continues to gain popularity and we have had positive discussions with Glasgow City Council on the floodlighting of the courts later in the year. NPCTC has been nominated as one of the 3 contenders for the Scottish Parks Tennis Venue of the year at the Scottish Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) awards in March. A recent survey of members gave very positive comments across all aspects of the first year of operation. Based on this feedback we will publish a tennis schedule in the spring for the tennis events planned for the 2024 season.

Gardening: our dedicated gardeners and litter pickers continue to perform vital clearing and pruning in the park through all weathers. We are planning to purchase additional plants to continue the regeneration of the large rose beds. If you wish to volunteer to assist with gardening, either on a regular basis or just whenever you have time, please contact volunteer@friendsofnewlandspark.org

Litter: A number of our volunteers daily clear up litter, placing it in the bins around the park. We encourage all to assist with this and if you see litter lying around, please deposit in the bins. We have been advised that the number of bins in the park will not be increased due to budget constraints. If a bin is full, please use the QR code on the bin and notify via their app that it needs emptied. If all bins are full, please can you take your litter home with you or to a bin outside the park.

Childrens Play Park: We had a number of conversations with councillors and Play Park architects on the regeneration of the children’s play area. We have set up a sub group to move this forward with initially a consultation survey with our members. Please respond to this consultation when released in order we can truly satisfy the requirements of our park members.  

Fete: The planning for this was discussed and we are having difficulty getting an overall coordinator for the Fete. We are reaching out to the regular exhibitors to hopefully get a coordinator from their ranks. If you can help, we would love to hear from you!
Contact us on: volunteer@friendsofnewlandspark.org 

Tennis and Gardening Sheds: Unfortunately, these were destroyed in the recent storms however we are currently sourcing a more robust joint facility for Gardening and Tennis storage.  This is proving to be quite costly. FONP and NPCTC exist through funding solely on grants and donations from the public and are always welcomed.  You can donate to FONP through the following link: https://friendsofnewlandspark.org/donate/

Best Regards,

FoNP and NPCTC Committees