Councillors have approved a 50-year lease of a Lochwinnoch football pitch for £1 a year after 28 formal objections were submitted against the proposal.
Calderglen Community SCIO had requested a 75-year lease of its pitch and changing facilities within Lochwinnoch Park.
Renfrewshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer Sub-committee reduced this to 50 years when it considered the application on Wednesday 26th August 2026.
The agreement will include a break clause after 25 years. The land will remain in council ownership.
The lease covers around 7,848 square metres. This represents 24.2% of Lochwinnoch Park and includes the existing football pitch and a small area occupied by the club’s new modular changing facilities.
An earlier application sought ownership of the pitch and a larger section of the park.
That application was approved in August 2024. However, an administrative error in the way it was publicised led to it being republished in June 2025. It was later withdrawn following a significant number of objections.
The revised proposal attracted 32 formal representations, of which 28 objected.
Some residents said they supported Calderglen and wanted the club to continue using the pitch but opposed a lease lasting 75 years.
Suggested alternatives included leases of between three and ten years, with regular reviews to check that promised benefits were being delivered.
Objectors compared the proposed agreement with the 10-year lease granted to Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust for Lochhead Gardens.
Concerns were also raised about public access, the position and appearance of the changing facilities, the consultation process and whether the club’s future activities would benefit enough people.
Several residents said the public notices did not make clear that Calderglen had requested a 75-year lease.
Others questioned why a community asset transfer was required when the club already used the pitch under an existing arrangement.
One objector wrote: “The Council is not being asked simply to support football. It is being asked to permanently diminish unrestricted public access to a public park in order to facilitate the activities of a single organisation. Those are two very different propositions.”
Residents said the area was regularly used by families, dog walkers and children playing informal games.
Some argued that other parts of the park were less suitable for ball games, kite flying and other activities because of their shape, condition or existing equipment.
Several representations claimed gates around the pitch had previously been locked. They sought guarantees that the public would continue to have access whenever organised football was not taking place.
Calderglen said padlocks were removed from all pedestrian gates in June 2025.
The charity said five entry and exit points were being used around the pitch and that it had no problem with people continuing to walk through the area.
It raised concerns about dog fouling on the playing surface and said the fence was installed to prevent vehicles from damaging the pitch.
Council officers confirmed at the meeting that three pedestrian gates would remain unlocked. People can also enter from the unfenced side beside the river.
The rest of Lochwinnoch Park is not included in the lease.
The football pitch at Calderglen in Lochwinnoch
Photo credit: Renfrewshire News
Concerns were also raised about possible artificial grass, floodlights and the effect of future development on flooding and drainage.
However, an artificial pitch and floodlights are not included in the revised proposal.
Calderglen said it had dropped plans for an all-weather pitch after listening to earlier feedback. It now intends to retain and improve the grass surface, including investing between £50,000 and £60,000 in drainage work.
Some objectors suggested the club should use Viewfield Park instead. They said it was already equipped for organised football and would allow Lochwinnoch Park to remain under its existing arrangements.
Council officers said no formal alternative proposal had been identified.
Several residents objected to the position of the blue modular changing facilities beside the Annexe.
They argued that the unit could affect future improvements to the Annexe, place further pressure on drainage and detract from the appearance of the park.
The changing facilities were granted planning permission in 2023 and were installed with the landowner’s permission.
Calderglen said the location was selected because it provided the easiest access to water, waste and electricity connections.
The club hopes to have the facilities fully operational for the 2026/27 season.
Concerns were also raised about the number of people currently benefiting from the charity’s activities.
Some representations said Calderglen’s main sporting activity was an adult men’s football team and asked for clearer commitments on youth, women’s and girls’ football.
The application says the club plans to introduce additional teams and free mixed-age training sessions. It also intends to make the pitch and changing facilities available to schools, the Gala Day, Young Farmers, the Boys’ Brigade and the Girls’ Brigade.
However, one objector said the application did not provide targets, timescales or enforceable commitments for these activities.
The council’s assessment panel gave the application an overall score of 74.6% and recommended approval.
Its governance, use of resources and sustainability were assessed as strong. Local community support, performance management and equality were considered to have been demonstrated to a more moderate level.
Calderglen said it has more than 130 members and had deliberately not encouraged its supporters to submit representations because of tension during the previous consultation.
The charity said it held an open viewing session, a public meeting at Lochwinnoch Bowling Club and presentations to Lochwinnoch Community Council. Information was also published through Chatterbox, social media and local newspapers.
The formal council consultation ran from 11th June until 13th July. Five notices were placed in the park and another five were distributed to public and community buildings.
Calderglen said a long lease was required to give grant providers confidence to invest.
The charity said it had raised and invested around £150,000 through member donations and corporate support.
Its response to the objections said: “Having seen multiple generations take responsibility for the land over the last 76 years, we do not view it as controversial that we ask that we retain responsibility for it over the next 75 years.”
The council currently spends around £8,000 annually cutting the grass and marking the pitch. Calderglen will take responsibility for this work under the lease.
Councillor Audrey Doig called for another village-wide consultation before the application was approved.
She said: “I think that the village feels as though they have not had a proper chat, a proper explanation of everything, and the fact that the 75-year lease is causing angst in the village.
“I would just like to see the football club hold a one-off full public access consultation to totally review and be able to ask questions about the things that they were not aware of.”
Other members said the application had already been through the required process and another consultation was likely to attract the same arguments.
Councillor Iain Nicolson said a short lease would make it difficult for Calderglen to obtain funding.
He said: “I think that we need to make a decision today, because the club has been pretty faithful with the process.”
A council legal officer advised that the lease would restrict how the land could be used.
The council could take action to end the agreement if the charity used the site for an unauthorised purpose. This would not require it to wait until the 25-year break clause.
Councillors approved the application without objection after changing the lease from 75 to 50 years.
Sub-committee convener Councillor Jacqueline Cameron said the objections had been read and taken seriously.
She urged Calderglen to work with residents so there could be “harmony and co-operation” in the future.
The lease remains subject to the land being removed from OneRen’s existing agreement and approval from the Carnegie Trust and Fields in Trust.