11/06/2026
I am absolutely gutted.
Last year Glasgow City Council installed these raised beds on Elderslie Street / William Street and they were advertised through Anderston Community Council and local housing as being available for community use.
I applied for a bed and never heard back.
The beds had been filled with poor subsoil left over from construction works so I spent my own money and time improving three of them.
I removed the compacted spoil, built a hugelkultur-style bed, imported 2 tonnes of quality topsoil and planted it with a mix of vegetables, legumes and pollinator-friendly flowers including courgette, potatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, rocket, beetroot, chard, calendula, cosmos, nigella and more. The beds were thriving.
Today, without any warning or consultation, Glasgow City Council's Biodiversity Regeneration Team removed the beds for repairs. In doing so they ripped out and destroyed all the plants, dug out the soil I had paid for and left everything piled on the ground as rubbish.
I'm struggling to understand how destroying a productive, biodiverse community growing space aligns with "biodiversity regeneration". 🤯
I wasn't expecting thanks or recognition. I just wanted to grow food with my family and contribute something positive to the local community.
Months of work, hundreds of pounds of materials, and a flourishing ecosystem have been wiped out in a single afternoon.
I'd like an explanation as to why no effort was made to contact local residents, provide notice or allow plants and materials to be salvaged before the work was carried out.
Christy Mearns .harvie
Lana Reid-McConnell
