Local residents are rallying around a Maryhill greenspace under threat of development.

As previously told in the Evening Times, there are plans to merge Elephant Gardens with the conversion of a building adjacent to the site.

Residents, calling themselves the Elephant Park Association, have already successfully persuaded architects to redraft their designs.

But now the group claims planning proposal changes do not go far enough.

Architect plans would see Elephant Gardens, or Elephant Park as it is known locally, become part of a flatted development.

Read more: Fight to stop development of Elephant Park

The greenspace is part of Glasgow City Council's Open Space Strategy, which means that if it is built on, the developer must provide a like-for-like replacement.

Glasgow City Council arm's-length company City Property marketed the park with the adjacent now-closed Shakespeare Street school building.

Jewitt and Wilkie Architects and housebuilder Spectrum Properties have plans that would see the existing school building converted with two new buildings for the site.

The redevelopment would see 29 flats created in the old building as well as one block of 24 flats and a second of 32 built.

More than 2050 signatures have been collected opposing the development.

The Elephant Park Association claims developers and councillors were not given correct information about the site.

A letter from Jewitt and Wilkie reads: "When the site was marketed by City Properties LLP it was not made formally aware to the Applicant that part of the site was designated as Green Space, which was not evident in the sales particulars.

Read more: Fight to stop development of Elephant Park

"Similarly it was not made evident to the Applicant until some way through the detailed application process that this was an issue to be considered."

Objector Pat Toms said: "Reports to councillors weren't transparent, none said the land included a protected greenspace.

"Yet City Property and certain council officers have encouraged the developer to propose flats on the park.

"The green space is an amenity which is not an operational requirement, so how can it be declared surplus to requirements?

"If it wasn't then how can it be marketed using delegated powers?"

The architect firm's letter goes on to say that it has taken into account concerns about the loss of greenspace and has developed three areas for public use that increase the open space for the development.

Objectors protest that this is not like-for-like.

Mr Toms added: "The present park land has one quarter paved area, the revised proposal has about one half of separate spaces paved.

"Their calculation includes half the width of a length of Hathaway Street as open space.

"Even so, this is significant loss of greenspace that is unacceptable.

"None of the proposed bits of space between buildings and car parking would allow people to garden and grow plants, or spend an evening chatting with a group of friends, or play ball or skip, or walk the dog.

"These activities are provided for by the long standing open space Elephant Park."

Read more: Fight to stop development of Elephant Park

Elephant Park, which has been in the community for around 40 years, is so-called due to two concrete elephants that form a focal point of the area.

A Picnic in the Park is arranged for August 6 for local people to show their support.