Lobbied as part of East Renfrewshire Council’s plans under a £40 million city deal, Balgray Reservoir could be transformed into a state of the art sports centre.

It would include facilities for kayaks and canoes, changing facilities, open water swimming and even a series of powered cables that would allow visitors to have a go at wake boarding or water skiing. Initial proposals stated that the centre would be for non-motorised sport — no jet skis or motor boats would be involved.

The full cost of the project has not been unveiled but it is believed that East Renfrewshire Council have now secured a lease on the dam in a deal with Scottish Water and work could commence within two years.

A report submitted to the Dams to Darnley Country Park Joint Committee, which contains representatives from both East Renfrewshire and Glasgow City Councils, said: “Cable wakeboarding uses an overhead cable to pull participants over the surface of water. Participants are attached to a wakeboard, so it is similar to snowboarding except on water. The cable is run between two A-frame supports and its operation produces minimum noise.

Cllr Tony Buchanan believes it is a prime opportunity to bring more tourists into the area.

He said: “This is just one of the projects that the area can benefit from as part of the city deal, and it is our hope that it will bring tourists and jobs to the area as well as providing excellent recreation facilities to the residents of Barrhead.” The report to cabinet continued: “The preferred site for the proposed Wake Park is on the western shore of Balgray Reservoir. The site would enable two cables to run either side of a central facility that would include elements such as a cafe, changing areas, toilets, storage and slipway. Research undertaken to date examining the success of existing sites in England and Scotland supports a focus upon cable wakeboarding as a means of minimising the risk associated with establishing a new facility.

“Nevertheless the preferred site also provides opportunities for other non - motorised watersports and activities. With a facility providing access to the water, these opportunities are likely to focus upon open water swimming and triathlon activities and events in the short term.” The city deal project sees East Renfrewshire Council link with Glasgow City Council and surrounding authorities in a deal worth a total of £1 billion to the entire area.

For East Renfrewshire’s input of £6 million it gets a return of £44 million, setting up projects that include the waterpark, a rail halt for Barrhead South and a connecting road between Barrhead and the M77 motorway.