Investment in Gypsy/Traveller Sites

Published: Wednesday 1 October 2025

This image shows the new children's play area  at the gypsy/traveller site at Springbank Park, East Kilbride

The council continues to invest in improvements to its two Gypsy/Traveller sites at Larkhall and East Kilbride.

The investment is in line with site masterplans which have been agreed with residents.

At the Shawlands Crescent site in Larkhall, work is ongoing to improve living conditions by delivering a programme of amenity unit extensions, with the designs agreed individually with residents. Good progress has been made in the past year, with the programme now almost complete. Work at the remaining few pitches is expected to be finalised by March 2026.

Improving energy efficiency has also been a priority over the past year, and a programme of solar panel and battery installation is underway at both Gypsy/Traveller sites. Alongside this, the council is working in partnership with Scottish Power to replace the electricity meters at both sites.

Ensuring that children have a high-quality place to play has been a key focus of both Site Masterplans, with the play park at Shawlands Park completed in 2024.  Following discussions with families living at the Springbank Park site in East Kilbride, a new play park was designed to help young people stay active and enjoy the outdoors safely. The play park has a range of fun equipment and has been installed with safety surfaces throughout and is built to be durable, easy to maintain and welcoming to all. Benches give parents and carers a place to relax while the children play, and bins have been installed to keep the area tidy.  

The playpark was opened in the summer of 2025 and we’re delighted that the families at both sites now have a play park to enjoy.

Both parks were funded by the council and through grants from the Scottish Government and the Scottish Procurement Alliance.