Over 450 skaters call on the council to take action amid criticisms of underfunding
Skaters claim that wheeled subcultures in Glasgow are being neglected as urban sports spaces like Queens Park Recreation Grounds are left unfit for purpose with little-to-no investment coming from the council to upgrade or repair them in the past 20 years.
Queens Park Recreation Grounds half-pipe (autumn 2025)
Words and photos by Devon McCole
Does Glasgow still support its skating community? Judging by the condition of the Queen’s Park Recreation Grounds, no. Glasgow has seemingly abandoned its wheeled subcultures by failing to maintain its urban sports spaces which skaters say could be lost to decades of neglect.
We asked local skaters what the grounds are like to skate on and the picture painted isn’t the prettiest one. Many told us it’s basically unskatable and vandalised beyond repair. Instagram user Soylentjesus commented: “Every obstacle there has been designed terribly. The ground is hella rough…” and another Instagram user Pawnyersel strongly agrees: “ground’s a cheese grater and that fun box has clinical depression.”
“[There’s been] zero maintenance of the space…it’s sadly completely unusable for little skaters as there’s broken glass and poor condition surfaces.” says local resident Emma Louise, “We avoid it and use Rouken Glen instead. We’d love to use our local space.”
Emma isn’t the only resident who prefers Glasgow’s Rouken Glen Skate Park to the QP Recs, Barbara Morton says her grandkids love the skate park at Rouken Glen: “[there are] all different heights and slopes, [it’s] fenced in, [there’s] table tennis outside it and public toilets too” But even Rouken Glen’s in trouble. It’s important to note that Rouken Glen falls under East Renfrewshire’s jurisdiction, but this suggests that this problem extends beyond Glasgow.
This would truly be a shame. If Scotland doesn’t nurture its urban and outdoor sports spaces, how is the nation really expected to make its mark on the world sporting stage, especially now skateboarding is an olympic sport.
Giffnock’s skating community has been calling for Rouken Glen’s facilities to be upgraded as far back as 2013 when a Facebook group was set up to advocate for necessary upgrades to the space, and as recently as 2021 when local skaters made the same calls to repair the space, published in the Glasgow Times – indicating no such repairs or upgrades of significance have been made in all that time.
Like Rouken Glen Skate Park, the QP Recs is brimming with potential, especially now, as wheeled subcultures like skateboarding have reached the olympics. As Barbara says “It would be a great resource if it hadn’t just been left!”
It’s a story Glasgow’s skating community has heard time and again. But if you’re not as familiar with the sport’s history in the city, you probably didn’t know Kelvingrove Skatepark in the West End is a modernised version of the former Kelvin Wheelies, Scotland’s first ever skatepark.
The Kelvin Wheelies was built in the park in the 70s, when skateboarding was emerging as a popular new urban sport. The council finally caved against mounting pressure from the public to address the prevalence of this ‘dangerous’ new sport and built a state-of-the-art outdoor facility – for the time. Cast in concrete, and characterised by other early design flaws, Kelvin Wheelies wasn’t perfect, but it was the best the city had to offer, and even hosted the Scottish Skateboard Championships in 1978, the same year it opened.
Kelvin Wheelies was a landmark in Scottish skateboarding that sadly closed just five years later in 1983 due to maintenance and safety concerns, like the bowls constantly filling up with water. The council, keen to abandon the Wheelies, even began to fill in the bowls with bricks, to deter dedicated skaters who refused to let the space go, skating around any obstacles put in their way. The council seemingly did everything but foot the bill for any repairs or upgrades. Today the iconic Kelvin Wheelies is nothing more than an excavation site, a monument to Scottish skateboarding history - and a historical example of Glasgow City Council’s negligence of outdoor recreational spaces.
The lack of care for many of Glasgow’s recreational, urban sports spaces is so poor that People Skate Glasgow, a collective of roller skaters in the city, say there are hardly any spaces for them that are suitable:
“We tend to go to the riverside museum or Queen’s Park arena stage to practice. I live very close to the Recs and it’s always sad to see it not being used.
“But the design is not very accessible for beginner skaters and the floor is really rough, so not surprising it’s not been used.
“We’d be very keen to see it being revamped and having a space amongst it for roller skaters to use it as well, which is just some smooth floor to roll on.”
According to the council, the skate parks within council-owned parks and play areas receive “on-going inspection and maintenance” as part of their regular parks services. It’s a shame that even with these regular inspections and general maintenance, the council has for the most part not done any major upgrades to ensure it’s actually skateable for most people.
Close up of the QP half-pipe (autumn 2025)
According to the council, the skate parks within council-owned parks and play areas receive “on-going inspection and maintenance” as part of their regular parks services. It’s a shame that even with these regular inspections and general maintenance, the council has for the most part not done any major upgrades to ensure it’s actually skateable for most people.
It was 2004 when the modernised Kelvingrove Skatepark, which is one of the most used Skateparks in Glasgow, appeared almost without warning. Mind you, whilst it came as a surprise, it was welcomed with open arms by Glasgow's skating community who hadn’t had a proper facility in the park since the late 70s. Local skater Roddy Smith recalls people were only given one night to submit plans which according to Roddy is why Kelvingrove Skatepark is “by all reasonable standards, actually terrible.”
It appears the council has a long history of nonsensical rushed building of these facilities and an inability to maintain and upgrade them accordingly. Despite Kelvingrove Skatepark becoming “iconic in its terribleness” it's still a beloved space, used by young people just as much as it is by die hard skaters. A point raised by user Whatdaywhattime, who said The Recs was “For many teeneagers…our youth club in the absence of one.”
Many people are also keen to point out that the QP Recs have hosted a number of concerts and other events on the grounds, which they’d like to see reinvested into the repair and maintenance of the space for recreational use outside of these ticketed events.
We asked the council if they were aware of the poor condition of the Recreation Grounds and if there were any plans in the works to repair the space. A Glasgow City Council spokesman said:
“We are aware of the condition of the skate facilities at Queen’s Park Recreation Ground and the equipment is being assessed by our blacksmiths so we can progress any necessary repairs.
“The equipment is over 20 years old and is likely to be nearing the end of its intended design life.
“Funding for a replacement has been secured through the council’s Parks and Open Spaces Fund and also the Scottish Play Area Renewal Fund.”
Local photographer Andrew Cawley would love to see the Southside get a decent skatepark and suggests if the council were looking to spend money on a rebuild they should cater for a wide variety of skills.
Resident Joe Clare, who has worked with communities across the central belt promoting active travel says “an actively used skatepark is a fantastic resource for community wellbeing, especially for younger people.” adding “this one [QP Recs] has a lot of wasted potential, it needs better maintenance, drainage and more features.”
Something many people agreed with. Like Kern Tallet who said: “It’s always looked in quite poor shape and I’ve always found a half pipe quite an odd choice for local skaters. Much better installing a street setup, and as someone else mentioned, ping pong tables etc.”
Roddy Smith, who launched the local petition to call for repairs to the disarrayed grounds, said: “The QP halfpipe is a proving ground with a surprisingly legitimate design and standard, and exactly the sort of thing a skateboard community needs if olympic dreams are to be flirted with.”
The council has also said they are exploring the possibility of securing additional funding from any developer contributions for the area:
“We work with skate groups and community organisations to identify available funding and support funding bids to improve facilities in line with local priorities.”
“We are hoping to confirm timescales for the necessary work as soon as possible.”
It’s clear the community desire to shape and actually use the space is strong. Hopefully the council plans to consult and work with local residents and the wider community to make sure that happens. Sooner rather than later is the sentiment shared by most.
The last time Glasgow held the Commonwealth Games (in 2014), there was a lot of investment in community sports facilities and so on for the city. As we approach the 2026 Commonwealth Games, we wonder whether the council will invest in facilities for young people and improve already existing ones in time for the major sporting event.
If you would like to see Queen’s Park Recs Skatepark half-pipe fixed or replaced, sign and share the local petition and let it be known. You can also email or call your local councillor about the matter.