Ibrox and Cessnock Community Council Approved minutes of meeting on Wednesday March 16th at 7pm at Kinning Perk In attendance: Margaret Barclay, Paul Chambers, John Cork, Shona Craven, Stephen Dornan, Jessica Galloway, Iain Henderson, Mark Hughes, John Kane, John McKinstry, Margaret Prunty, Yvonne Reilly, PC Elaine Sherwood, Bailie Fariha Thomas, PC Lee Wason
Apologies: James Adams, John Foster, Ray Prunty, Grace Smith Vice-chairman Mark Hughes opened the meeting and took on chairing duties, as chairman John Foster was on holiday. He introduced Elaine Sherwood and Lee Wason of Police Scotland, who provided an update on recent crime in the area. They reported there had been 20 reported crimes in February, nine of which had been detected. This is down 50% on the same month last year. The crimes included car and home break-ins (the main concern for the local police), misuse of drugs and road traffic offences. Many of the traffic offences recorded in the area are committed on the M74 motorway as opposed to local streets. The housebreakings and car thefts do not appear to follow any pattern and are therefore believed to be opportunistic rather than planned/organised. There is a rise in such offences on match days. As of the date of our meeting nine offences had be recorded for March, with three detected, also reflecting a downward trend. PC Wason assured residents that the recent alleged murder in Elizabeth Street was an isolated domestic incident and that a suspect had been arrested at the scene and remanded in custody. Therefore there was no risk to the general public. Shona Craven sought clarification about the statistics given the low numbers of reported offences and it was clarified that these statistics referred to crimes “reported and established” - therefore would not cover lower-level antisocial offences such as those regularly raised at our meetings (ie public drinking/urination in gardens on match days). The police advised that nine times out of 10 these result in a fixed-penalty notice. Statistics on the number of such offences reported and the number of fines issued was requested, and the officers advised that they would request these. Mark addressed correspondence received in relation to the DigiCC workshops, the Summer Sessions concert series in Bellahouston Park, Thriving Places and the Subway modernisation. Craigton is the only community council that can formally object to the concerts due to their location, however we can liaise with them to raise concerns. There was discussion around looking at feedback from last year's events in a bid to minimise negative impact on our area. A representative from SPT is due to attend our next meeting to talk about the Subway modernisation. Fariha Thomas gave an update on the restoration of the Dr Wilson Memorial Fountain. The damage was significant, so it is important for it to be made safe. The community council will be kept up-to-date on progress and liaise with Ibrox Primary, who are planning related project work. There was also a discussion about the city budget and the use of reserves to mitigate against cuts to services. Treasurer John McKinstry provided an update on the process of transferring the community council's bank account, Iain Henderson gave his report from the most recent community council discussion forum, and Mark advised that Craigton and Drumoyne community councils were up and running, and Govan East was in the process of being re-established. Mark is now the community council rep for the South Sector Partnership, with Mary from Craigton as his deputy. Yvonne Reilly from Glasgow City Council provided an update on Thriving Places, which will link up groups to work together and involve a Community Co-ordinator being in post for three years. Yvonne assured us she would provide regular updates. She also outlined the details of a community budgeting pilot project, which has £10,000 to disburse. There was discussion about whether the community council was in a position to apply for a grant for any of the projects listed as potential strategic priorities for 2016, however the timescales were very tight. There was to be a meeting on April 5th, the deadline for applications was April 8th and the community voting was to take place on April 18th, a Tuesday afternoon when many residents would be unavailable. Members discussed inviting our two local MPs to discuss the UK Government's contract with housing agents Orchard & Shipman, who are responsible for providing housing for asylum seekers. It was suggested a one-off meeting could be arranged in conjunction with the other community councils, touching on this and other matters reserved to Westminster. Mark provided an update on the new Clyde Community Hall (formerly Whitefield Road Hall. The application for SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) status has been successful and the hall is on schedule for a summer opening. There possibility of holding a one-off community council meeting to trial the new space was mentioned. Updates were provided on the Skene Road and Ibroxholm Oval planning applications. It is hoped both of these will go to the committee stage – five objections to the former were lodged and while only one objection to the latter appeared to have been submitted, resident Margaret Prunty advised that she had gathered and submitted seven letters from Whitefield Road residents. The application for a digital poster board was refused because of the impact it would have had on residents directly overlooking it. Cultural Services Officer Paul Chambers gave an update about the Artery project, referencing the “cultural village” model that has been established around the Glad Cafe in Shawlands. An open forum is planned for the end of April/beginning of May to work towards a more defined model. The aim is to bring art and cultural experiences to the corridor stretching from the “Angel to Elephant”, which may involve temporary installations. The meeting closed at 8.50pm. The next meeting will take place at 7pm on Wednesday April 20th at Kinning Perk Cafe.
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Ibrox and Cessnock Community Council Approved minutes of meeting on Wednesday February 17th at 7pm at Kinning Perk In attendance: Paul Chambers, Shona Craven, Stephen Dornan, John Foster, Iain Henderson, Mark Hughes, John McKinstry, Grace Smith, Bailie Fariha Thomas
Apologies: James Adams, Bill Copleton, Chris Fyfe, John Kane Chairman John Foster opened the meeting and minutes from December and January were approved subject to minor amendments. Councillors Stephen Dornan and Fariha Thomas gave an update regarding cleansing issues raised at the January meeting, and advised that both had raised concerns with Land and Environmental Services (LES) about uncollected rubbish as well as leaves and mulch in the streets. It was clarified that bin collection services were not sub-contracted but additional vehicles were hired that should have all displayed the council logo though it was noted some did not. Shona Craven advised that she had emailed Paul McGrath, deputy south cleansing manager, about festive collection issues and also the impending introduction of food recycling bins, but received no reply. The only reply came from the councillors who had attended a meeting with LES. The community council expressed grave concerns about LES’s ability to introduce new bins when it is clearly failing to provide an adequate collection service of existing bins. It was acknowledged that paper/plastic recycling bins were lower priority, but these were left unemptied for months and regular bins were also left for many weeks over Christmas. John Foster suggested fine should be imposed on LES for failures. There is a clear lack of accountability here. Stephen Dornan also mentioned a forthcoming change to legislation that will allow refuse collectors to collect anything left in the street without the risk of legal action. It is hoped this will address some of the huge inefficiency problems with bulk collections that have been addressed many times at our meetings. Iain Henderson gave his report on the monthly Community Council Discussion Forum on February 13. The forum was addressed by David Wood from Planning Aid Scotland, who spoke about how the Community Empowerment Act (Scotland) 2015 will make it easier for communities to take ownership of public assets. John Foster advised that the consultation on the Skene Road development had been extended due to the major website problems, and was awaiting an update confirming that five responses had been received. A comment from the Scottish Architectural Heritage Association has highlighted the fact that the proposed flats do not fit with the style of other housing in the area. The deadline for responses to the “Ibroxholm 2” development plans is March 15th. It was noted that it is hard to get a sense of developments from the documents available on the council website, and that it would be useful if larger-format papers were available locally, ie in the library. John Foster has made contact with Ibrox Primary School and the community council will be highlighted at a forthcoming PTA meeting. The school has been involved in litter-picking in the past so this may be an area we can engage with. Kinning Park Community Council have contacted us regarding Orchard and Shipman, the agents responsible for the housing of asylum seekers whose offices are on Brand Place. The firm is to provide a waiting room to avoid the current situation where people are queuing in the street. Orchard and Shipman’s contract for this work ends in 2017, and it was suggested we invite local MP Alison Thewliss to a future meeting to discuss concerns raised by the Scottish Refugee Council about the quality of accommodation being provided. John Foster asked Fariha Thomas if it was likely asylum seekers would be accommodated in one of the proposed new developments and she said she thought this highly unlikely given the level of demand for brand new rented housing. Mark Hughes gave an in-depth report about a recent meeting with the management committee taking forward the refurbishment of Whitefield Road Hall, now renamed Clyde Community Hall. He advised that a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) application had been submitted naming three trustees. The plan is for the hall to comprise a main hall plus two training rooms and a café. Concern was expressed that no funding appeared to be in place to support any staff for the new hall. Strategic priorities were discussed and Grace Smith highlighted the importance of having eye-catching leaflets and posters to raise awareness of the community council in our local area. There are plans for the Edmiston Drive billboard to be turned into an LED high-definition screen, which will require planning permission. John Foster raised the possibility of space on this screen being available for community use, and said his correspondence on this with advertising firm JCDecaux had been positive. Paul Chambers, Cultural and Learning Skills Officer with Glasgow Life, outlined his role and long-term aims to improve our area, including the Artery project. The meeting closed at 9pm. The next meeting will take place at 7pm on Wednesday March 16th at Kinning Perk Cafe. |
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