CONTROVERSIAL plans for townhouses on part of a 100-year-old traditional sports club have been given the go-ahead.
Councillors voted overwhelmingly to give their consent to the application for the development at Partickhill Bowling and Tennis Club in Glasgow's west end after hearing it would shut if it did not receive the cash from the sale of its land.
It was given the green light despite almost 1,000 objections, including submissions by Tennis Scotland, the sport's governing body north of the border, MSPs, councillors, heritage groups and school children.
The development will be sited on the dilapidated tennis courts.
Only one councillor of 15, the Greens' Dr Martin Bartos, dissented. A call for the council's entire planning committee to visit the site before coming to a decision was rejected by nine votes to six.
Councillors who spoke in support of the development said the tennis courts had lain vacant since 1997 while there were a number of other facilities in the area. They also supported the notion the development could help the bowling club to become a community hub.
Ian Watson, chairman of the Partickhill Green Space Association, said the decision was irrevocable, and that the council's own policies had failed to protect dwindling recreational areas in the west end.
He said: "The neglect here hasn't been an act of God. It's due to how the club has been run. We didn't believe that the state of the tennis courts was irreversible.
"The message from Tennis Scotland was the sport was going one way, upwards, and there are times of the year when other local clubs operate to capacity."
However, Mr Watson said the fight to preserve the site was now over.
To offset concerns, the developers have been told by the council to pay compensation of £120,000 for the use of the three derelict blaes courts. It will be spent on other recreational facilities in the area.
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