CELTIC Football Club would lead the regeneration of one of Scotland's poorest areas under plans to develop an 18-acre swath of land in the socially deprived east end of Glasgow.
The club is considering buying and leasing an area of derelict council-owned ground around their stadium in London Road to develop a new football academy.
Celtic's proposals, unveiled yesterday, mark yet another milestone for the impoverished area which is soon expected to undergo a complete rebirth with a planned national indoor sports arena and the east end regeneration route, a wide road linking the M74 extension with the M8, cutting through a section of the east end.
A new Glasgow City Council report outlined the full extent of the plans and authorised officials to begin final talks on the sale of land at Westthorn recreation ground and various sites in the area.
Officials have also laid out the terms of the possible sale of the former London Road Primary School to Celtic and the lease for a car and coach park to be used by the football stadium as well as the forthcoming national indoor sports arena.
Steve Inch, director of the council's development and regeneration services, said Celtic had a key role to play in the overall renewal of the area.
Hesaid: "The paths of the council and Celtic are inextricably entwined if a success is to be made of the regeneration of the east end.
"Both parties will have a number of common issues to resolve particularly in the provisions of utilities (gas, water pipelines), removal of electricity pylons, and reaching agreement at an early stage will help resolve a number of the issues."
Previous speculation had linked Celtic to new training facilities at Lennoxtown, north of Glasgow, but the report indicated the club's preferred option was the area near its current Barrowfield training base.
A Celtic spokeswoman last night said that positive discussions had taken place with the council over a number of years.
She said: "These discussions have been given new impetus following the proposed infrastructure changes for the area.
"Celtic takes its role in the regeneration of the east end very seriously.
"We are working with the council and organisations such as West of Scotland Housing Association to ensure an integrated approach to the long term strategic planning for the area."
The area around Celtic Park forms part of the Clyde Gateway project which is seen as a major f lagship development for the east end.
George Redmond, councillor for the Bridgeton/Dalmarnock ward, was recently appointed to drive forward the 20-year master plan, which aims to bring 21,000 jobs and 10,000 new homes to the area by 2025.
Mr Redmond will head a steering group that will work to attract more than pounds-1.6bn of private investment into the east end.
He said: "Celtic are a key part of the regeneration work in the east end.
"The council have been in discussion with them for some time and this is the culmination of that.
"The potential in the east end is enormous.
"In 15 to 20 years' time, we hope the east end will be a vibrant part of the city and people living there will have the same quality of life that they do in other parts of Glasgow and Scotland."
PROPOSAL - Map shoing the proposed training area that Celtic FC want to buy - not available on database - see hardcopy or PDF
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