IT COULD be a bit of waste ground you walk past every day, or a grassy square covered in litter.

Perhaps you have a plan to turn it into something else – an art project, community garden or play area?

If you do, you are not alone. Pockets of disused land that have fallen into decay – 'stalled spaces' - are gradually being transformed across Glasgow, thanks to the dedication and hard work of its people.

Streets Ahead, the successful Evening Times campaign that returns for its second year, is teaming up with Stalled Spaces, Glasgow City Council's initiative that turns vacant land into community projects, to help more residents keen to improve things for everyone in their community.

ANN FOTHERINGHAM reports -

A LITTLE piece of land is a pretty garden, a busy meeting place, a bowling lane and a community hub rolled into one.

The land, between Barlogan Avenue and Paisley Road West in Glasgow's South Side, is unrecognisable from the state it was in just over a year ago.

Laura Dunbar, of Craigton Residents' Action Group, said: "It was overgrown with weeds and full of rubbish – people just used it as a dumping ground.

"We were fed up doing clean-ups for it just to end up a mess again, so we got together and decided to turn it into something we could all use."

The land was not maintained by anyone and the owners could not be traced, so the group approached Glasgow City Council's Stalled Spaces initiative for help.

The scheme funds community projects that return vacant land into temporary use. In its first year, it has supported 50 projects and brought more than 15 hectares (the equivalent of 22 full size football pitches) back into community use.

More than 220 residents have volunteered as part of the scheme and about £500,000 in match funding has been attracted – more than six times the amount invested by Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Housing Association and the Central Scotland Green Network.

For the Craigton residents, funding meant the chance to create a beautiful garden, complete with planters, seating and an artificial turf bowling lane.

Ms Dunbar said: "We thought of the bowling lane because we wanted to encourage elderly residents to become more active, and it has been a great success, despite the washout summer.

"We plan to hold mini-tournaments and work with local primaries, Craigton and Our Lady Of The Rosary, to see how children can also use the space."

The residents have set their sights on a second piece of land in the area, with plans to install lighting, slabs, planters and seating.

Ms Dunbar, whose group narrowly missed out on the top prize for Best Community Garden at the first Streets Ahead Awards earlier this year, said: "Streets Ahead is an excellent campaign.

"Going along to the awards night was a great experience. It made you realise there are so many people all over Glasgow trying to improve their areas, and that gives you heart.

"It can be a struggle sometimes and it is great to know you are not alone in trying to improve things for everyone."

Stalled Spaces grew out of concerns that land 'banked' for future development, or cleared for regeneration but unable to progress because of the difficult economic conditions, would become unattractive blights on the community, or problem areas, attracting anti-social behaviour.

Breathing new life into them galvanises local people and brings economic, social and environmental benefits.

Community groups who take on a stalled space are bound by a lease agreement, which overcomes many of the obstacles in the way of vacant land being used for community projects.

Chief among them is fears that once these spaces become community green space it will be difficult to return to development and that financial or legal liability will fall on site owners.

When the site is handed back to the owner it is not always the end of a project.

With so much commitment shown by residents, community groups and individuals, it is often the case that the project can be replicated at another location.

Stalled Spaces was recently recognised at the Scottish Government's Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning and it has been shortlisted for a Eurocities 2012 award.

As the initiative enters its second year, Councillor Liz Cameron, spokeswoman for jobs and the economy at Glasgow City Council, is delighted to be backing Streets Ahead.

She said: "Glasgow is always trying to be innovative and creative about how to improve the lives to those in our city.

"The success achieved in its first year has been tremendous and we look forward to working closely with the Streets Ahead Project."