Plans for a controversial tree-top adventure attraction at one of Scotland's most popular municipal parks have been scrapped.Officials say controversial Glasgow attraction �just wasn�t worth the hassle�

Plans for a controversial tree-top adventure attraction at one of Scotland's most popular municipal parks have been scrapped.

In an unexpected move, the firm behind Go Ape, which had been due to open at Glasgow's Pollok Park next spring, said it would no longer build the course, citing financial constraints.

The announcement came just two days after opening dates were discussed at a councillors' meeting.

However, it is understood a change in political personnel within the council's parks' department signalled the death of the scheme, with one senior source describing it as "not worth the hassle".

The proposal had led to hundreds of objections and appeals to the Scottish Government to halt it.

Following detailed and delicate negotiations Go Ape last night walked away, claiming the stumbling block had been the costs associated with turning a gate house, Knowehead Lodge, into a reception area, a requirement of the National Trust of Scotland.

Jerome Mayhew, managing director of Go Ape, said: "We have concluded that the amount of work required to adapt Knowehead Lodge to incorporate our reception area would be too extensive and impractical. We have therefore decided, after much thought, not to go ahead with building a course in Pollok Park."

Despite receipt of 881 objections to the development in Pollok Park and several heated meetings with hundreds of campaigners, the council voted in favour of the proposal last year 14 to six and the Scottish Government, which is required to vet any applications where a local authority profits from the sale or lease of its own land, said it would not intervene.

However, questions remained as to the status of Pollok Park, whether such an attraction was permissible on common-good land, whether the scheme was value for money for the council and whether, with admission costs of £20, it was value for money for the customer.

A dedicated campaign group, Save Pollok Park, had been ready to take court action if Go Ape went ahead, claiming that the city council was not within its rights to lease part of the park as it was common-good land.

Bill Fraser, of Save Pollok Park, said last night: "We're delighted with this outcome and we want to thank all our supporters for sticking with us over the last 18 months.

"Our campaign was backed by thousands of Glasgow residents who wanted to keep Pollok Park's North Wood as the haven of peace the Maxwell family envisaged when they gifted it to the citizens of Glasgow.

"It's just a pity it's taken so long to reach the obvious conclusion."

LibDem councillor Paul Coleshill's ward neighbours Pollok Park.

He said: "The credit crunch has very few upsides but if it stops the council giving a private company privileged access to a public park to charge prices most ordinary families couldn't afford, that's OK by me.

"It never made economic sense to charge £45 for an adult and child to walk in the park. Most people actually using the park didn't want this development and even the planning details were never right - parking, toilets and ownership problems couldn't be dealt with.

"Now apparently it's the economy that has forced the council to give people what they actually want - a quiet wood in a public park."

The council's sole Tory, Pollokshields' David Meikle, resigned from the planning committee because of Go Ape's approval.

He said: "I trust Go Ape have now listened to the views of local people, who are overwhelmingly opposed to the facility being sited in the park. However, this announcement is humiliating for Glasgow City Council, who only on Wednesday were claiming Go Ape would open in Easter 2010 despite unresolved legal and planning issues."

Officially, the obstacles, physical and financial, to converting a gate lodge, Knowehead Lodge, to a reception area were cited as the reason Go Ape will not go ahead.

But The Herald understands the writing appeared on the wall for Go Ape when elected members within the parks department adopted a similar approach to that which spelled the end of a proposal for a nightclub in the city's Botanic Gardens.

Last night one senior council source said: "Go Ape was one of these things which looked good on paper but then you saw the level of objections and everything which came with making it happen, landscaping, the Knowehead Lodge, it just wasn't worth the hassle."

The battle for green space in the Dear Green Place took on national prominence as the city council's strategy to enhance its parks with attractions pitted the authority against a vocal, mobilised and mainly middle-class opponent.

The nub of the argument was that the council was allowing private enterprise to capitalise on a public asset for a quick buck. A peaceful and historic woodland, a daily haven for hundreds of people, was being damaged irreparably to boot The council, for its part, believed Go Ape would energise its park and population. Those who supported the plan, it insisted, had chosen to remain quiet.

Robert Booth, executive director of land and environmental services, said yesterday: "Obviously we regret Go Ape's decision not to proceed with their facility at Pollok Park.

"Our main objective was to secure an additional attraction for park users at no cost or financial risk to the council.

"The loss of such an exciting venue for health and recreational activity within the park and of course the 2000 annual free places which would have been available to Glasgow groups young and old is therefore a major disappointment."

But deputy First Minister and local MSP Nicola Sturgeon branded the move an "embarrassing climbdown for the council".

She said: "This is a fantastic victory for everyone who has campaigned so hard to save Pollok Park. It is a decision that should have been taken a long time ago when it was clear that public opinion was overwhelmingly opposed to a Go Ape development in the park. Instead of ignoring public opinion, GCC should have listened. It is an embarrassing climbdown for the council but great news for everyone who uses Pollok Park."

However Go Ape's presence in Scotland is set to continue.

A second north of the border (the first is already open in Aberfoyle) will open next year and Go Ape is in discussions over a third.

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