A group campaigning for the reopening of the city's public venues has called for the introduction of 'tourist tax' as an alternative to charging the public to enter Kibble Palace.
The introduction of the charge was one of the measures announced as part of the Glasgow City Council budget.
In a bid to raise £185,000 for the city, members of the public will be charged to enter the historic glasshouse in the Botanic Gardens for the first time in over 180 years.
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The move has sparked outrage among the public who fear the move will punish low-income families.
Glasgow Against Closures, who have been protesting the long-term closure of Glasgow Life venues, have said they are in favour of introducing the 'tourist tax' which is already in place in many European cities.
Colin McGeoch said: "We welcome the fact that there will be no 'compulsory redundancies' however the continual reduction of local authority budgets directly affects services and jobs in the city.
"Whilst it is stated no community venues will close there is no guarantee that there won't be a reduction in further opening hours and services provided.
"The budget states that the Mitchell Library is to have its opening hours reduced, efficiency savings to be found in library services, swimming pool hours reduced, sports services reduced, and a review of staffing within the parks department.
"We would be in favour of introducing a “hotel room tax” and “foreign tourist tax“ for entry to museums like major cities do across the globe.
"The money raised could be ring-fenced to fund community venues like Kibble Palace and services which have seen funding severely reduced after covid."
Brian Atkinson, Chairman of the Friends of Botanic Gardens, said the group is opposed to the plans.
He said: "The Friends are implacably opposed to the introduction of any charges to this Internationally recognised centre of botanical and environmental excellence.
"To exclude unfettered access to the valuable plant collections and the demonstration of their globally economic value will strike a major blow to Glasgow’s promotion of environmental awareness and climate change information.”
Local dad Anthony Docherty has launched a petition calling for a re-think of the plans and says that charging for entry could have an impact on people's mental and physical health.
He commented: "The Kibble Palace is used daily by local people often young families. You can hear children laughing and asking questions about the Palace and its plants, it’s a great educational tool.
"You see people meeting people and catching up. I often see older people doing this and have spoken to people who say this is where they get their daily social interaction.
"Charging people who may not be able to afford to enter is damaging the people of Glasgow’s mental health, physical health and destroying generations of children’s learning and childhood memories.
"These charges are a ridiculous idea to solve Glasgow City Council being over budget, our council tax is already going up and I worry what else we will lose."
Glaswegians also took to social media to blast the decision.
Kenny Stewart said: "I know it’s tiny in the grand scheme of things but a generation of Glasgow kids potentially missing out on seeing the fish in the Kibble Palace because it’s not free any more is weirdly upsetting."
Simone Liuzzi added: "There is much worse in this budget l. But sometimes the thing with austerity is the little indignities. Now, the Kibble Palace belongs to the people of Glasgow, you just wander in for a bit of warmth, take the wee ones to see the fishes. Soon it will be just another pay for ride."
A council spokesman said: “This is a measure agreed by councillors as part of the council’s budget for 2023/24, which has required the council to identify almost £50m worth savings to cover a funding gap for this year.
“The budget aimed to protect services and jobs where ever possible and has looked to deal with the funding gap by raising additional revenue.
“Further details on what this measure will mean in practice at the Kibble Palace will be announced in due course.”
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