ABOUT

The Glasgow Institute of Architects, in association with the local community councils, invite entries for design professionals and students to produce design ideas for the site of the former Queen’s Park Bandstand area to create a modern, multi-purpose performance and activity space for community and visiting arts groups with capacity to accommodate small (up to 300) and large (up to c900) audiences.

History of Queen’s Park

Queen’s Park was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton and constructed, in modified form, between 1857-62. It is named after Mary Queen of Scots rather than Queen Victoria, in allusion to the Battle of Langside (1568) which took place nearby. Its current features and facilities, in addition to mature trees and shrubs, include a boating lake, tennis courts, bowling green, allotments, glasshouses with planting and live animal displays, children’s play area and a cafe, can be seen from the Park Heritage Trail booklet. Google Earth satellite view shows how SW side of the park is more heavily wooded while NE, where the arena site is situated, is more formally laid out. A bowling club, 'Goals' football facilities and Langside Halls where a range of classes take place, are situated on the south side of the Park. Current usage is estimated very roughly at 30,000 p.a. plus a further 20,000 attending for specific events, of which the Southside Festival, attended by c16,000 over 2 days in May, is the most important.

History of the Queens Park bandstand

The bandstand site is approached by tarmac paths and is within 200 m of the park entrances at Balvicar Road and Victoria Road.

The present site has housed first a cast iron bandstand (from 1912 to c1930) and subsequently an enclosed pavilion style south-facing bandstand with shallow, concrete-edged amphitheatre terracing on which individual folding chairs were put out for concerts, political speeches and other events. This bandstand burnt down in 1996 and the site has since been derelict. The folding chairs still exist but it is no longer viable to set out and remove such seating for events. The amphitheatre terracing is now badly deteriorated and the floor area and back terrace areas have also degraded with uneven surfaces and drainage problems. No cost effective repair or renovation is considered possible and the shallowness of the terracing also presents issues of accessibility and comfort. However, the area is surrounded by a mature privet hedge and iron railings which are in good condition.

Further information can be found at the following websites:
http://www.qppp.org.uk/ and www.glasgow.gov.uk/heritagetrails

Queens Park Arena Ltd

In April 2009 the Queen’s Park Performance Project steering group was established. This is a group of 8 people, representing a partnership of 4 local community councils and is supported by GCC officers The group was established specifically to undertake a pilot project supported by the Scottish Government with £15k pump-priming funding as part of the Empowering Communities agenda.

The group is acting as the lead body on behalf of the community. It is in the process of becoming Queen’s Park Arena Ltd, a company limited by guarantee and registered charity, a process which it expects to be complete in March-April 2010.