Clyde currently play at New Douglas Park in Hamilton

Clyde FC: Glasgow City Council reveal reasons for rejecting Bully Wee's bid for Crownpoint move

The Bully Wee's plans for Crownpoint Sports Complex suffered from negative community feedback

by · Daily Record

Glasgow City Council has revealed "a lack of public support and negative community feedback" were key factors in the local authority rejecting Clyde Football Club's bid to take over the Crownpoint Sports Complex.

The SPFL League Two side put forward plans to take control of the council-owned venue in June and the club found out just before Christmas that their proposal for the Gallowgate venue had been knocked back.

The Bully Wee - who currently groundshare with League One outfit Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park - faced a rival bid from Finnart Football Academy, and it is they who have now been given the green light to proceed to the next stage in the process.

Clyde FC Community Foundation, the charity leading the club's project, said in a statement last week that they were “unconvinced by the rationale given by the Local Authority” for kicking out their plans, which we can now reveal was a lack of support and negative community feedback.

Plans were put forward to establish a full-size and five-a-side pitches, athletics track, buildings and parking on the southern end of the site.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman told Lanarkshire Live Sport: "The assessment panel for the People Make Glasgow Communities programme found that they could not recommend that the application from the Clyde FC Community Foundation to manage the Crownpoint Sports Complex progress to the next stage of the process due to the failure to demonstrate an acceptable level of public support.

The plans did not win approval within Glasgow City Chambers (Image: Getty Images)

"More than 34% of respondents strongly disapproved of the application, with a further 5.6% noting their general disapproval.

"The People Make Glasgow Communities programme focuses on giving community and grassroots organisations more control over council-owned venues and assets to enable them to meet the needs of their neighbourhoods, and it was felt that the application did not meet that criteria given the negative community feedback.”

Clyde have long sought a home of their own since leaving Shawfield in 1986.

They have groundshared with Hamilton previously - from 1991-1994 - and also agreed a deal with rivals Partick Thistle to play at Firhill between 1986-1991.

Clyde left Broadwood last season after being told NLC would let their lease expire in May 2023 (Image: SNS Group)

After agreeing a move to Broadwood in 1990, it would be 1994 before the Bully Wee moved into the stadium, where they would remain until the end of the 2022/2023 season. That season, a row with owners North Lanarkshire Council over the controversial re-signing of David Goodwillie led to them leaving the Cumbernauld venue in favour of Hamilton.

It is now a case of the club going back to the drawing board, as the search for a place to call their own goes on.

All the latest sport news in Lanarkshire

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport onX via@LanLiveSport, like us onFacebookor find us onInstagramfor the latest sports news, pictures and video.

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.