Pollok Country Park - Protests

Protests

In the early 1990s the park was the site of a road protest camp, the "Pollok Free State", which attempted to prevent the M77 motorway from cutting through the south west side of the park and separating it from the nearby housing schemes. The road cost £53 million and destroyed 5000 trees in a seven mile stretch of the park. Protesters, including local schoolchildren, attempted to prevent this using tactics like building and occupying treehouses and tunnels. There was also a "Carhenge" of burnt-out and half-buried cars, from as far afield as Brighton, placed in the path of the road. Eviction of the camp by Wimpey bailiffs and police began on 23 March 1995, leading to 15 arrests and one injury. Though the camp failed to prevent the road being built, it was a formative experience for many Glasgow activists who had no previous experience of direct action. It also led to the resignation of M.P. Allan Stewart.

In early 2008 a campaign to "Save Pollok Park" had to be formed, protesting against outdoor adventure company Go Ape. The company was invited by Glasgow City Council to enhance outdoor recreational activities within the park. Over five thousand residents objected to the proposals to site a high wire forest adventure in the ancient North Wood.