May 21 2025
Jan 22 2025
Oct 22 2024
Both the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens are currently closed for major refurbishment. The restored museum and Winter Gardens are due to re-open in 2027. Come along to our AGM and find out more about this project , the restoration of this valuable asset to the people of Glasgow, Scotland and beyond .Oct 05 2024
We are delighted to present “The Winter Gardens: a vision for the future” (PDF) – a report on the past, present, and future importance of the Winter Gardens at Glasgow Green.
The Friends of the People’s Palace, Winter Gardens and Glasgow Green (FOPPWGGG) and a team from the University of Glasgow ‘Solutions for Change’ programme worked in partnership to produce this report. It used focus groups and analysis of our popular survey which asked peoples’ opinions about what should happen to the People’s Palace Winter Gardens.
‘The Winter Gardens are very unique… It’s hard to think of anywhere else like it’ – Focus group participant
A main theme emerged in this work: the Winter Gardens carry great importance for the people who have accessed them, either through past links, or through future aspirations for the space, with hopes that the Winter Gardens would contribute to their communities’ development. The love and enthusiasm we found for the Winter Gardens shows the strong community beliefs that the Gardens should continue as a beloved civic resource for all Glaswegians and visitors to the city.
The Friends of the People’s Palace, Winter Gardens & Glasgow Green (FOPPWGGG) will use this report as part of their ongoing discussions with Glasgow City Council/Glasgow Life and other partners to show what people would like to see in the restored Winter Gardens.
May 31 2024
The People’s Palace closed its doors on Sunday 14th April 2024. It closed for refurbishment and is due to re-open in 2027. The refurbishment will also include the Winter Gardens which has been closed since December 2018 and all plants in it completely destroyed.
The first stage of funding. £850,000 has been provided by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. We understand that all the artifacts from the People’s Palace will be removed and put into storage. Once this has been completed Glasgow Life will assess the full restoration costs estimated at £35.9million.
Glasgow Life has stated that they will follow a “community centred approach” and that local people will shape all aspects of the refurbishment of the People’s Palace, including collecting, interpretation, and programming. They state ” The revitalised People’s Palace and Winter gardens will be a place by people, for people, with people. Therefore we hope to work closely with Glasgow Life, Glasgow City Council and other stakeholders involved over the coming months in the restoration plans of this important civic resource which tells the story of the social history of our city. We will keep you updated with developments. So far we are still to meet with Glasgow Life.
Apr 05 2024
Following the funding announcement in January 2024 from the National Heritage Lottery Fund the People’s Palace will close its doors on Sunday 14th April as, alongside the Winter Gardens, these iconic buildings, belonging to Glaswegians “for ever and ever”, will undergo refurbishment. Glasgow Life has told us that they will close for approximately 3 years for a complete repair and restoration. the good news is that the Winter Gardens is included in this restoration. As just what the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens will look like in the future is unknown to us and the full amount of funding needed for the restoration , £35.9million has not, as yet, been secured we will be keeping a watchful eye on developments. We look forward to working with Glasgow Life over the coming years and to the time where we can sit in the Winter Gardens once again and enjoy its beauty and peacefulness.
To mark this occasion we have organised an event outside the People’s Palace on the 14th April at 3:30pm. until 5:00pm. St Francis Pipe Band from Gorbals will be performing plus St Dennis Children’s Children’s Choir.
Glasgow Life is encouraging local people and visitors to visit the Peoples Palace over the next few weeks before it closes through its “Last Chance to See” Project. People’s Palace launches ‘last chance to see’ campaign, before closing for major refurbishment — Glasgow Life
Mar 19 2024
In January of this year we had a very successful celebration of 126 years of the People’s Palace. We welcomed our supporters, Councillors, MSP &MPs to celebrate with us
St Dennis Children’s Choir entertained us with their performance of traditional Glasgow songs “Coming Home to Glasgow” , “The Glasca Cat” and finished with “Auld lang Syne”, with the audience joining in.
We had an arrangement of inspirational speakers including David Hayman, Actor, who spoke passionately about how important the people’s palace was to him growing up and how vital it is for all the children in the future.
Bailie Annette Christie spoke about the 1st instalment of funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund being awarded to Glasgow Life & the Council. This will allow for initial investigation work to be carried out on the refurbishment of the people’s Palace & Winter Gardens. She is confident that additional funding will follow on.
Alison Thewlis MP & Paul Sweeney MSP both followed on with their delight at funding approval being announced.
The event was rounded off by Christie Williamson and this beautiful poem “Cumpleanos”
Thank you to all our supporters and to People’s Palace staff especially Tam, Diane, Tariq and Katherine who helped us organise the event.
Thank you too to the Bakers who provided the cake & biscuits.
The announcement of National Heritage Lottery Funding is great news. We will continue to carry on our work to make sure that the People’s Palace & Winter Gardens are fully restored. Until we can sit with a coffee in the Winter Gardens we will not give up.
Dec 03 2023
In August we supported plans developed by Glasgow Life, the arms-length organisation running culture and leisure, brought before Glasgow City Council’s Administrative Committee to “restore, reimagine and enhance”” the People Palace and the Winter Gardens. The cost of this proposal is £35.9 million and not all this funding has been identified yet. An initial bid of £7.5million has been made to the National heritage Lottery We should hear soon . late December, if this bid has been successful. A further £11m contribution would come from the Council, which intends to identify funding “through capital planning across budgets from 2025/26 onwards. While Glasgow Life would endeavour to secure £12m from “other public sector funders”.
If funding bids are successful, initial work would begin early next year and the whole scheme is expected to be completed by autumn 2027.
Full committee report can be fund here:
Glasgow City Council City Administration Committee Report by Bailie Annette Christie, City Convener for Culture, Sport and International Relations PEOPLE’S PALACE & WINTER GARDENS REFURBISHMENT 17th August 2023 Glasgow City Council
