Evening Times - March 02, 2009
Rowing clubs may get massive new boathouse
A NEW boathouse could be built on the Clyde as a state-of-the-art centre for Glasgow rowers. The plan comes after consultants were asked to look at options for two rundown boathouses on Glasgow Green two years ago.
The B-listed west boathouse, which opened in 1902, has fallen into disrepair and was thought to need around £800,000 of work.
Another £6.5million would have been needed to rebuild the east boathouse on nearby land.
Glasgow City Council, which owns both centres, baulked at the cost and decided on a re-think. The latest plan involves knocking down the east boathouse and replacing it with a new building, which would accommodate the five clubs which use the river.
The five clubs are Glasgow and Strathclyde universities rowing clubs, Clydesdale and Clyde amateur rowing clubs and Glasgow Schools rowing club.
A council spokesman said: "A feasibility study was carried out in 2007 and there were presentations to the council, the clubs and sport Scotland.
"It was decided to revise some of the thinking because the options were too costly.
"The current thinking is to demolish the east boathouse and replace it either on its current site or nearby."
The west boathouse would be mothballed in the short term.
"All the clubs would operate out of the same building as it would be more economic," added the spokesman.
"It would have to be quite substantial to accommodate them all.
"The architects are trying to work out how best to co-locate the five clubs, which is a big challenge."
George Parsonage, of the Glasgow Humane Society, who lives next to the two boathouses, claimed they had both been badly neglected for many years.
He added: "The west boathouse is a beautiful building, which was built as a rowing club.
"I would like to see it kept as a rowing club."