Thornwood Community Council
Minute of meeting on 03/06/2025
Partick Free Church Hall
2-4 Thornwood Terrace Glasgow G11 7QZ (6.30pm)
Welcome and apologies
Attendees:
TCC Members
Shaun Conroy (Chair)
Jamie MacBrayne (Treasurer)
Colin Price (Secretary)
Allan Smith
David Garfield
Geraldine Ross-Hargreaves
Madeline Jansen
Nicolas Dear
Stephen Marshall
Ex Officio Members
None
Other attendees
1 members of the public
Apologies Received in Advance
Séamus Gallagher (member)
Councillor Eunis Jassemi (Scottish Labour Party)
Councillor Lana Reid-McConnell (Scottish Green Party)
Not present
Councillor Feargal Dalton (Scottish National Party)
1. Minutes
Minutes for previous meeting (6th May 2025) — approved
Proposed: Jamie Seconded: Nic
2. Police Scotland report
There was no report this month.
3. Matters arising
- Thornwood Primary. 125th anniversary
Shaun reported that the school was taking the lead on this and that various activities were currently in the early stages of being arranged. - Interactive speed signs on Dumbarton Road
Re. the poorly set sign for drivers heading East, Mark has reported that thecompany that installed the sign has ceased trading and that “we will arrange for this to be turned off until fixed.” As of Tues 3rd June it hasn’t been switched off. - Water seepage from the centre line of Thornwood Drive
Scottish Water say that they have tested the water again and it is definitely not drinking water and definitely not sewage, i.e. it is groundwater. The test results have been supplied and Colin said that to his amateur eye they are entirely compatible with a mains leak that has been subsequently contaminated by travelling through soil. Scottish Water have been asked to comment on this hypothesis.
It was noted that it is imperative that the problem is resolved as when winter arrives the water on the road will freeze and it will be a serious safety hazard.
4. Thornwood roundabout
Nic reported on the recent roundabout meeting noting that the particular details are not yet for public release but that there will be a public consultation on the proposals probably in August. Some funding is already available and so some initial work can begin this year but other works will be dependent on funding remaining or becoming available. Work on the roundabout is part of the City Development Plan so funding may not be such a hurdle. It was noted that they were aware of the current flooding issues on the various approaches to the roundabout and that these would be addressed. The speed on the roundabout was raised at the meeting. Colin noted that this year there are plans to roll out the 20mph city wide limit but under the existing proposals the roundabout and all roads on and off, with the exception of Broomhill Drive, are planned to remain at 30mph.
5. Monthly walkaround
Allan & David reported that this was a positive experience. Most of the issues that were noted were ones that had already been raised but it was still worthwhile having these flagged up. It was thought that there may be some merit in having a more specific agenda prepared prior to any walkaround. A further walkaround has been planned for July.
6. Pitches update
Jamie reported that progress is being made and the group are currently waiting to become a registered charity. An application will also be going in for the ‘People Make Glasgow Communities’ scheme. There is to be an initial online meeting with an officer to discuss this and to take it forward. It was thought that this would be a very positive way of having the pitches proposal officially recognised and would help ensure that all the disparate agencies involved with the school would recognise what was going on.
7. School fête, 6th June
Shaun reported that he would be attending and invited any others who were available this Friday to join him. Should the leaflets that are being prepared for Saturday be available in time he will be using those to advertise and promote the work of TCC.
8. The state of Thornwood
- Estate agent boards
Notes on this topic were issued prior to the meeting- Mark advises reporting through the app and said that GCC aims to remove fly posting within 20 days.
- Mark reported that he had been sending letters to repeat offenders and also contacted businesses to remind them that they should not be placing advertisements on GCC assets without permission. Colin suggested that if TCC were told which repeat offenders had been written to we could help monitor the effectiveness of this strategy. The meeting agreed that this was a good idea.
- Mark suggested TCC could work alongside him in engaging with businesses to reinforce the message that it is having a negative impact within the local community. Allan and Maddie have agreed to take this on. They have already contacted an estate agent, received a very sympathetic response and were told the board would be removed. A week later the board remains in place.
- Colin has asked Mark to find out how many estate agent boards have actually been removed in the last six months.
- Colin has also asked for details about one specific board that was reported a total of five times and incorrectly reported as removed on four occasions.
- Graffiti — Colin issued notes on this prior to the meeting.
Colin along with Karyn Macdonald from PCC, met with people from SWG3 to discuss some positive approaches to dealing with graffiti.
- SWG3 are involved in the ‘legal walls’ initiative; gable end murals; and the artistic decoration of utility boxes. All of this does require funding. By the time the artists have been paid and everything taken into account, decorating a utility box might cost £800.
- One suggestion was to use an appropriate site for advertising for one month (a licence is required) and this can fund appropriate artwork for the rest of the time.
- The purpose of engaging with the subculture is to direct people towards a more positive outlet for their talent, help them develop their skills, and enable them to earn some money.
- It should not be assumed that those involved in graffiti all have the same motivation, will necessarily respond to a more positive approach, or fit a common profile. Many are older than commonly assumed. Some show respect for buildings and others’ work whilst others do not.
- One opportunity is to work with businesses to decorate their shutters in an appropriate way. There are examples in Partick. This cannot be explicit advertising as that would require a licence.
- SWG3 were strongly in favour of putting proposals into a Place Plan as this made it much easier for things to be moved forward. Is there scope for a joint Place Plan with PCC?
- https://streetartcities.com/cities/glasgow
Gives examples of what has been done in and around Glasgow, and around the rest of the world.
- Flooding near roundabout
This was raised in connection with the roundabout proposals. Colin is continuing to seek clarification on what has been done regarding investigations and what is proposed as a solution. - Constant leak on Broomhill Drive
This was mentioned in connection with the leak on Thornwood Drive and it was wondered if the two issues were connected. This will be followed up with Scottish Water and GCC as part of the Thornwood Drive investigations.
9. Adoption of Glasgow Harbour Terraces by GCC
Nic explained the issues regarding the delayed adoption of the road between Castlebank Place and Granary Quay. It has been reported that the developers need to bring the street lighting up to standard before the road can be adopted but it is proving difficult to get clarity on when this will happen. Nic reported that he had been given assurances that the road will be adopted at some stage. A particular problem is that the parking issues on the road cannot be enforced until the road is adopted and there is concern that this parking hinders access for emergency vehicles.
10. Kennoway Lane — Colin circulated an update prior to the meeting
- The Kennoway Lane Improvement Group has been set up as a properly constituted group and is currently advertising and garnering support.
- GCC email rules didn’t allow an officer to reply directly to the group as the official email address is only for council use. It has been agreed that Colin can continue to use the TCC email address to workaround this issue.
- An FOI request said
- GCC are planning to add soakaway pits and a French drain to prevent future problems. Problematic trees are going to be removed. We are seeking clarification on the timelines for these works.
- The risk assessment that led to the relocation of the bins has been received. There appear to be some inconsistencies and inaccuracies but clearly the main issue is the underfoot conditions. A request has been made for a definitive list of improvements that is needed to satisfy the cleansing department.
- There have been at least two occasions when the promised Friday bin collection hasn’t happened leading to the bins being so full that the lid won’t close. On at least one occasion a recycling bin was similarly overfull with the lid unable to close.
11. Drinking fountain in Thornwood Park.
Our request for a Scottish Water ‘Top-up-tap’ has been rejected. It was noted that it was an appropriate location for many reasons but probably failed to meet the criteria regarding footfall.
12. Parking on corners and dropped kerbs.
Parking on corners has always been a problem in the area. It isn’t an actual offence unless it is causing an obstruction. There have, however, been numerous instances of emergency vehicles not being able to navigate a corner due to parked vehicles. From January 2025 GCC has started enforcing the new rules against parking where there are dropped kerbs for pedestrian or cycle use. [Transport(Scotland) Act 2019]. In Thornwood this is most often on the corners.
https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/article/12607/Pavement-Parking-Enforcement-Begins-In-Glasgow
This has received a lot less publicity than the ban on parking on the pavement and there was some concern that drivers are now being fined without properly being informed about the changes to the law. Parking Services has confirmed that they will not be using a TRO to put yellow lines on the corners as the situation will be resolved with the introduction of the RPZ and parking bays. However, it was noted that the RPZ has been delayed and it is currently unclear when it will be implemented.
13. Spring into summer event, Victoria Park June 7th, 12-4
A table has been booked (£50); David has agreed to take the lead on this; all members
who are able and willing are encouraged to support David if possible. It was agreed that the twin objectives of the event were to promote and raise the profile of TCC and to build personal links with other agencies and organisations working in the area.
The meeting thanked Stevie for the very attractive flyers he has produced. There was some discussion as to whether a banner could be produced for the table but it was recognised that it was too late for a professional banner to be sourced.
14. Elected Representatives Update
None this month.
15. Planning & Licensing – Jamie
https://tellmescotland.gov.uk/tellmescot/pages/notices?mode=postcode&pCode=G117QZ
No new items. It was agreed that if a response to the Meadow Road development was required during our summer recess we could deal with this by email in the first instance. Colin has asked GCC for clarification on the developments at the takeaway and Methodist church.
16. Treasurer Report
Jamie circulated this prior to the meeting. There was nothing special to report. It was noted that ‘discretionary funds’ were available from GCC if they were needed and there was some discussion as to what we might apply for, e.g. data projector, TCC branded hi-vis jackets.
17. Treasurer Report – Jamie
Jamie shared the Treasurer report prior to the meeting. The main things to note was the £300 grant for bulb planning. All the relevant paperwork for the Area Partnership has been completed but there are still some outstanding receipts to be recorded.
In addition we still owe some money for the hire of the hall. This has been set at £35 for some years but will be going up to £40. This was unanimously approved.
18. Questions from the public
none
19. AOB
David raised two issues
- 50th Anniversary of Glasgow’s Community Councils – Civic Function – Tuesday 16th September 2025, 6.00pm to 8.00pm
Email circulated to members on 30th May
Anyone wanting to attend is to reply by completing a short online form by 15th June - Community Engagement Training Opportunity for Community Councillors Email circulated to members on 30th May
We have been asked to nominate one person to attend and to confirm either way by 27th June. There were no volunteers. - Community Council Development Session – Licensing, Saturday 14th June 2025, The City Halls, Candleriggs
Email circulated to members on 19th May.
Colin will be attending and reported that recent sessions have been worthwhile.
The next meeting will be on Sept 2nd 2025