Adobe StockAlpacas at an East End children’s farm are back to their full health, Glasgow City Council has insisted, after concerns were raised over their whereabouts.
The alpacas are a popular attraction at the Children’s Farm in Tollcross.
However, Ellen Stewart, chair of the Friends of Tollcross Park group, recently raised concerns after she visited the Children’s Farm and noticed that the alpacas were missing, with no indication of where they had gone.
A council spokesman insisted today that the animals had simply been unwell recently but are now back to normal and can be seen in their pen seven days a week during opening hours.
Tollcross Park is internationally famous for its unique Rose Garden and impressive Winter Gardens. It also has many hidden gems, including the Glen Nature Walk and Children’s Farm.
Concerns have also been raised recently by the Friends of Tollcross Park over the state of the Children’s Farm and Rose Garden, which they say is subjected to weeds, overgrown areas, and bare patches in the flower beds.
Ms Stewart said: “When you walk into the children’s farm, you can see right away that it is deteriorating.
“You hear people saying that they went there when they were kids, and they want to take their own children there. They keep talking about how this is a deprived area.
“For some kids, the only time they will see a live chicken is when they go through the Children’s Farm. I don’t understand why, when you have a facility, what is the point of letting it deteriorate? I don’t understand the logic here.
“It needs to be tidied up. When you go into it, there’s a nice little museum that has been closed. As you walk through, there are llamas, but the last time I was in, the llamas had gone. I don’t know where they disappeared to in the meantime.
“I last saw them around a month ago. Maybe they have been moved while they clean up the area, but I just don’t know. There are also a couple of horses that come and go.”
Speaking about the Rose Garden, Ms Stewart added: “Workers are doing their best to get rid of the weeds, but we do need someone who is a professional gardener to help them establish the gardens again.
“It is a shame, as when you walk through Tollcross Park, especially near Tollcross Park, and if you walk along by it, it is so overgrown in that area, and basically they don’t have enough gardeners.”
The Friends of Group has also been urging the city council to install toilets at the Glasshouse, which would allow a small tearoom to be set up for visitors.
It could also be used for small events and workshops.
Ms Stewart continued: “You can’t use something if there is no toilet, if there is going to be public use of the thing. I understand that we are preparing another tender right now that plans to have a toilet facility outside the glasshouse.
“Surveys were done before it was built, of the people in the area who would all like a small tearoom which would be ideal in the park, but that hasn’t happened.”
Glasgow City Council hopes that work will start on the toilets in the coming months, which will stimulate interest from potential operators.
A spokesman for the council said: “Tollcross Park is a much-loved, well-used green space and receives routine and intensive maintenance in keeping with its status.
“Although the rose trials are no longer held in the park, we fully recognise the importance of the rose garden to the local community and beyond.
“Resources are being deployed to ensure the high standards historically seen in the Rose Garden continue to be achieved.
“The Children’s Farm at the park continues to be home for a range of animals, including ponies and alpacas, which are being well looked after.
“We are considering how the Children’s Farm can be revitalised and are examining options for how this could be done.
“We are aiming for work to start on new toilets at the glasshouse in the coming months.
“We are hopeful this will stimulate interest around the future use of the building from potential operators.”
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