Trade union workers are warning of a dangerous plant sweeping Glasgow’s parks and have claimed less affluent areas with parks are being neglected by the city’s council.

GMB Scotland Park convenors say that hogweed is sweeping through overgrown parks across the city this summer after grass-cutting was cut by two-thirds in recent years.

The plant is commonly known to be dangerous and can cause severe blisters and third-degree burns if exposed to sunlight and it can even cause blindness if sap from the exotic plant reaches the eyes.

John McArthur, GMB Scotland parks convenor at Glasgow City Council, claims that hogweed is now being found in places where it has never been seen before due to the lack of maintenance from the local authority, and that ‘bio-diversity’ is being used as an excuse for overgrown and neglected parks across the city.

He said: “It used to be only on riverbanks or near burns, but we are seeing it all over now.

“The grass is being allowed to grow and hogweed is growing along with it and self-seeding.

“Whenever we find it or get reports, we spray. But it’s out of control now.”

“The council claims to be supporting biodiversity but critics say other towns and cities have refused to adopt similar policies because the cost of reinstating and restoring overgrown parks will be prohibitive.

“The lack of maintenance not only reduces the ability of Glaswegians to enjoy the city’s parks, but long grass can also hide other dangers such as dog fouling and broken glass.”

The union is now urging the council to reverse what they say is years’ worth of budget cuts in Glasgow’s parks and restore more regular maintenance.

Mr McArthur claims that grass cutting has been reduced from 18 times a year to around six times a year.

The concern comes only weeks after Keep Scotland Beautiful announced its annual Green Flag awards for the country’s best-kept parks.

The city of Edinburgh received 35 awards, while Aberdeen and Dundee both received eight respectively. However, while the other Scottish cities received multiple Green Flag Awards, Glasgow, which boasts around 40 parks, was only the recipient of one.

The Botanic Gardens in the west end was Glasgow’s only winner, receiving the award for the 14th consecutive year. In 2023, Glasgow received 4 awards in total with Linn Park Wildlife Trail Southern Necropolis and Overnewton Park, all of which have been managed by ‘Friends of’ volunteer groups.

Mr McArthur says while the volunteer groups are well-intentioned it only gives the local authority an excuse to fund them instead of workers.

The GMB Union says that in 1992 Glasgow had around 1800 staff working in the city’s parks. By 2007 this had been cut to 1000. Now there are around 160 staff left working a four-on, four-off shift pattern meaning that only 80 workers are left to maintain the city’s vast areas of parkland.

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In a recent column, John McArthur told The Herald: “The Botanics have six gardeners and seven in the glasshouses helping maintain this affluent area to a very high standard. They’re like a bowling green. Whereas in places like Pollok they only react when they’re notified. All the ‘Friends of’ groups receive resources and funding that should be redirected to the parks operations.

“The people of Glasgow own this park. Our management and Council have a responsibility for what happens in them. But they’re handing over responsibility to these volunteer groups of enthusiastic amateurs and training them up to dig stuff out of the park. But that’s our job. It’s madness.”

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council denied that the number of grass cuts per season was ever 18 and says the reduction in maintenance is a way of adapting to climate change and improving biodiversity.

They said: “Giant Hogweed is an invasive plant and people are advised to avoid contact with this plant.

“We apply herbicide to control growth when it is on council-owned land in locations where people might come into contact with the plant.

“We have a rolling programme of herbicide spraying at these locations to contain the plant and new locations reported to us will be added to our programme.

“We have seen no increase in the use of herbicide to control hogweed within the city.

“Any concerns about the presence of hogweed should be reported to us along with the exact location via our website.

“In line with national guidance and local authorities across the country, our approach to ground maintenance has changed as we respond to the challenge of climate change.

“Parks and open spaces across the city continue to receive a regular grass-cutting service during the growing season.

“But we are increasingly leaving plots to grow naturally to help support local ecosystems and biodiversity.

“This approach ensures better habitats for a wide range of pollinators and small mammals but also helps to increase the carbon stored in soils and mitigate against flooding.

“We recently identified 81 species new to Glasgow, which shows the positive impact that changes to grass maintenance can make.

“People can also get advice about hogweed on our webpage.”