RESIDENTS across Glasgow will be encouraged to breathe new life into derelict private lanes between homes under a new council scheme.

There are 931 private lanes in Glasgow, outwith the city centre, which are not owned or adopted for maintenance by the council.

Many of these face issues such as fly-tipping, overgrown vegetation, drainage problems and anti-social behaviour, the council says.

It believes “significant numbers” of people living near these lanes are not aware they either own part of the lane or have a collective responsibility for it.

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Back in 2002, it was estimated the cost of bringing all the lanes to an adoptable standard would be £50m.

This is likely to have “increased significantly with further levels of degradation” over the past 18 years, a council report reveals.

Councillor Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: “Private lanes are an integral part of the city’s residential areas, but residents, homeowners and factors are not always aware of their responsibilities for the upkeep of the lanes.

“We want to work in partnership with owners and other agencies to ensure issues in privately owned lanes are dealt with and the lanes remain available for appropriate use.”

A communications strategy to raise awareness of these lanes and promote action from residents will be launched by the council.

An online toolkit has been put together which include links to organisations who can help revamp the lanes as well as to council services such as bulk uplifts and waste recycling sites.

It will also provide advice on potential sources of funding to help groups improve the security or the appearance of lanes.

There will also be details of successful case studies, including a recent example in Dunearn Lane, Woodlands.

The toolkit will be launched over the next eight weeks to support groups who already have an interest in regenerating their lanes.

The council report states: “It is recognised that, although the council has no ownership responsibilities, it is important that the authority take a lead to offer a level of guidance, support and help to improve the environment.

“The scale of the private lanes means that this will need to be incremental and based on groups who are actively seeking to engage in the first instance.”

Lanes within the city centre are not included in the plans, with work under way on another scheme to address issues there.

Most of the lanes targeted in the new strategy are in the north, south and west of the city.