APPALLED locals have blasted the state of a popular park blighted by piles of rubbish, widespread graffiti, and a polluted pond.
Elder Park in Govan is one of Glasgow’s most historic green spaces.
But in recent years, the sprawling space has fallen victim to vandalism, littering, and neglect amid council budget cuts.
The pond is full of shopping trolleys, bikes, rusting chairs and waste floating among the ducks.
The boathouse, signs and containers are daubed in spray paint, while litter, including plastic bags, cans, and glass bottles, are strewn across the walkways.
And many of the park’s grass areas are overgrown.
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Glasgow is affectionately known as ‘The Dear Green Place’ but frustrated locals have branded Elder Park a “disgrace”.
Speaking to The Scottish Sun, long-term resident John Meikle, 72, said: “I’ve been here for 40 years and it doesn’t get any better. Govan’s a dump now.
“It’s really bad. The park’s terrible.
“I’m down here every day. The people just abuse it.
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“I’m disgusted with it. The kids have no respect.”
Helen Hughes, 74, an ex-nursery nurse, has lived in Govan for more than 20 years.
She said: “It’s an absolute disgrace. I grew up in Cardonald but we used to come here as kids, it was amazing.
“You had tennis courts, a bowling green, and a putting green. It was a lovely park.
“They spent £4million on the library. But they can’t afford to cut the grass.”
The grandmother-of-one added: “There needs to be more care and effort to keep it tidy. You go to Bellahouston, Victoria or Kelvingrove Park, not one of them is as bad as this.
“The pond is dreadful. There’s trolleys, chairs, and God knows what else in it.”
Pastor David Childs, 63, moved to the area last October and works with the charity 20schemes, which helps revitalise churches in deprived areas.
He said: “It’s a cracking park. I think it could really be a park to contend with in Scotland.
“But the council doesn’t invest in the parks now. They’re cutting back.
“Friends of Elder Park do a fantastic job. And on the weekends when the runners are out even they clear up the muck.
“They’re out here clearing up the broken glass. They shouldn’t have to do that.
“It would be great to see the boating pond cleared out. The rose garden’s fantastic, but Lady Elder would turn in her grave if she saw it now.”
GMB convenor, Chris Mitchell, slammed council cutbacks and called for action.
He said: “The staff in the parks have been decimated. As the council calls it, it’s a non-statutory service.
“Even statutory services are seeing decline. When they get called out they’ll redirect staff from somewhere else, but that means somewhere else will be left.
“It’s sad but it’s all staffing levels. Cuts are destroying this city.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We do have staff working in the park on a regular basis but we plan to have a team in the park in the coming days to undertake additional work that will address the issues that have been raised.
“This includes removing litter and rubbish from the park and the pond, stripping back overgrown areas and removing weeds. We are also calling upon our graffiti team to support the clear-up in the park.”
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Elder Park was gifted to the Govan community in 1885 by Isabella Elder in memory of her husband, the shipbuilding tycoon John Elder.
There are statues of the couple in the park.