November 2024

Thornwood Community Council

Minute of meeting on 05/11/2024

Partick Free Church Hall

2-4 Thornwood Terrace Glasgow G11 7QZ (6.30pm)

  1. Welcome and apologies

Attendees:

TCC Members

Shaun Conroy (Chair)
Jamie MacBrayne (Treasurer)

Colin Price (Secretary)
Seamus Gallagher 

Ex Officio Members

Councillor Lana Reid-McConnell (Scottish Green Party)

Other attendees

3 members of the public

Apologies Received in Advance

Madeline Jansen (member)

Nicolas Dear (member)
Geraldine Ross-Hargreaves (member)

Stephen Marshall (member)

Councillor Eunis Jassemi (Scottish Labour Party)


PC Andy McKay (Police Scotland)

Not present

Councillor Feargal Dalton (Scottish National Party)

  1. Minutes for previous meeting AGM & Ordinary meeting (1st October  2024)
    Both sets of minutes were approved
    AGM Proposed:   Jamie Seconded: Shaun
    Ordinary Proposed:   Séamus Seconded: Jamie
  2. Matters arising
    1. Website
      It was noted that information on the pitches had been added, that work on the discussion forum was ongoing, and that CP would ask Stevie to add information about the interim election.
    2. Restricted Parking Zone
      Following last month’s meeting CFP submitted some questions to Parking Services. No response has been received.


Additional analysis shows that there will be more cars in the RPZ than allocated spaces. Regarding the Thornwood part of the RPZ

  • Projected number of spaces 1105
  • GCC survey (2am, 25th June 2023) counted 1250 cars. (i.e. +145)
    This figure may be untypically low as the survey was three weeks after Glasgow University’s term ended.
  • The DVLA say there are 1465 vehicles registered to postcodes in the Thornwood part of the RPZ. There are, however, 323 off-road parking spaces. This means that there are 1142 cars registered in the area needing parking spaces, 37 more than the available places. This may also turn out to be low when those here for a short time realise they need to update their documentation in order to apply for a parking permit.
  • Many of the spaces counted as belonging to Thornwood are in Broomhill Drive. This will be of little help if you live in central Thornwood.

It was agreed that CP should raise this with Parking Services copying in the elected representative and also ask when the public consultation would begin.

It was additionally noted that the Wheatley towers have 172 off-road spaces but DVLA records 208 cars registered to those postcodes.

The possibility of unintended consequences was noted, e.g. increased numbers of cars parking across corners.

[Eunis has subsequently offered to take this up and get an official, up to date response.]

  1. Emissions based parking charges
    There was a discussion about the objections lodged by PCC as detailed on their Facebook page. It was noted that the official date for sending in objections had passed. TCC had not been specifically consulted on the issue presumably because the existing traffic orders do not apply to Thornwood.
  2. Festive Lighting
    Thanks were made to VPAP for pursuing the matter of getting a more competitive quote. Shaun thanked Colin for his persistence in raising this matter. The cost for lights in the three trees in Thornwood Park this year will be £4,350 (down from c £11,500 in previous years). Half the cost will come from central funding the other half from VPAP funds. TCC had previously agreed via WhatsApp to support the proposal. At the meeting it was unanimously agreed that TCC would agree to the festive lighting going ahead at this cost with the proviso that we still pursue the question of ‘who is getting paid how much for doing what’.


Colin said the massive reduction was a clear indication that something had gone ‘very wrong’ in the previous two years and added that the new figure only looks like a bargain because of ‘where we have come from’. He noted that WCC were looking to install a bench in Victoria Park for £1,582.80, almost one third of the cost of three strings of Christmas lights.

  1. Abandoned developments: Replies from Planning Enquiries

    Apsley Street: There was a planning application that was granted permission and a decision letter was sent out on the 18th of April 2024.  The planning  permission is valid for three years so the applicant still has lots of time to implement it before it runs out.  They applied for planning permission in October 2023 and the application reference is 23/02507/FUL.  The application was to use the shop unit as a flatted development.  In terms of when the applicant intends to start work that is not something we would know and you would need to speak to them directly.

    Lana added that she would see if there was anyway the owners could be encouraged to make the site more attractive until the development begins.

Meadow Road: There was a planning application granted in 2015 for this site for a residential development.  The application reference was 15/02333/DC.  …   That permission has now lapsed.  The only application after that was 20/02355/FUL which was about remediating the embankment but not for the same part as the housing development. What the site owner plans to do now is not something planning would not necessarily hear about until a new application came in.

The crane on this site was removed this past weekend.

  1. Toxic waste dumped adjacent to the river near Glasgow Harbour
    Maddie has been following this up and received the following from Peel L&P, the owners of the site:

(Peel) are taking legal action to regain ‘possession’ of the land that we have Title to and have requested all materials be removed from our land as part of the action raised. We are in discussion with SEPA and have had our environmental consultants attend site – there is no evidence of leakage or holes in the drums at present.

Lana added that her information is that the drums were empty and no immediate risk of contamination.
Some concern was expressed that the situation was being used as a justification for moving on members of the travelling community.

  1. Migrating stone chips
    This has been reported to Mark McColgan who passed it to the Roads team for investigation. Mark hoped to have an update for this meeting but, as yet, there has been no update.
  1. Interim elections – update
    Information and nomination forms are available on the GCC website
    https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/communitycouncils/elections
  2. Pitches development – update
    Shaun gave an update saying:
    1. The plant pens have been completed.
    2. Jamie is buying some plants for various areas of the school. 
    3. The MUGA Gate on Thornwood Drive now open to our community out with schoolHours.
    4. The entrance pathway to the MUGA needs repairing and NRS are dealing with it.
      [Eunis has subsequently offered to speak with the relevant officers and liaise on this.]
    5. Future working group meetings have been booked on the third Tuesday of Nov, Jan, and Feb.
    6. The pitches have been submitted to the City Development Plan 2
    7. A request has been made that Thornwood Primary can be used as a litter hub. The Area Partnership will be approached for funding.
    8. NRS offering further ‘leaf fall’ equipment.Address.


The Call for Sites and Call for Ideas is coming to an end 11 November 2024 and as many people as possible are encouraged to submit something about the pitches.

  1. Roundabout proposals – meeting Monday 7th October.
    Proposals are:
    1. to have controlled crossings on all roads leading to or from the roundabout with the exception of Broomhill Drive. The one on Sawmill Road was known to be problematic though.
    2. moving the bus stop in front of the shops closer to the roundabout so that pedestrians will actually use the crossing. 
    3. an improved cycle path
    4. a larger pedestrian area outside The Thornwood achieved by relocating the cycle hire to the end of Thornwood Drive.


All of this has to be checked by design and safety teams so a final proposal won’t appear until early 2025. However, we were also told that the financial situation had changed dramatically since the last meeting, so the prospect of this getting funding is less promising than earlier in the year.

The mural was officially opened on Friday 2nd with very clear reporting from STV on community concerns over safety.
TCC thanks the excellent work of The Studio’s Jenny Olley and Lyndsey Wells for engaging 150 children in the artwork.

  1. VPCT AGM – report circulated prior to the meeting and copied below
  2. Elected Representatives Update
    Lana’s update largely pertained to matters minuted under other headings but also mentioned
    1. Cross Park: The vandalism of the tyre swing that was burnt and destroyed has now been cleared away. It will probably take 6 – 8 weeks for this to be repaired.
    2. There will be a December update on park renewal funding with a consultation on equipment.
    3. The possibility of ‘rumble strips’ to slow traffic approaching the roundabout was mentioned.
    4. The need for some way of protecting the school when the MUGA is opened to the school. The school is opposed to a fence. The possibility of CCTV was mooted.
    5. Submitting the pitches development to the City Development Plan request for sites and ideas was strongly encouraged.
  3. Police Scotland Report
    The main message this month is that as a result of proactive policing there has been a significant drop in the number of crimes in the area. As always TCC would like to thank the police for the work they do in the area keeping people safe.
  4. Request from WCC for monetary support for a bench in Victoria Park
    It was agreed that although this was a laudable project it wasn’t something TCC could financially support given limited funds and the need to support projects that would more directly benefit the Thornwood community.
  5. RAG self-assessment – circulated prior to the meeting.
    This was approved and will be submitted to GCC
    Proposed: Jamie Seconded: Séamus
  6. Better Busses for Glasgow
    Discussion  of this was deferred to a later meeting.
  7. Planning & Licensing – No applications relevant to Thornwood
  8. Treasurer Report – circulated prior to the meeting
    Jamie noted that we were now into a new financial year and should receive our administrative funding from GCC in January
  9. Questions from the public
    Matters raised here have been minuted under previous headings.
  10. AOB
    1. The state of the  phone box at the bottom of Thornwood Drive was raised and it was agreed that CP should pursue this matter with BT.
    2. The tables and advertising taking up an excessive amount of pavement space out Birdhouse was raised, as was their storage of bins at the bottom of Thornwood Drive. MM at NRS has been contacted and is pursuing the matter.

Report on VPCT AGM

I represented TCC at the AGM of Victoria Park Community Trust. There were the usual AGM matters to be dealt with but of particular interest was the Chairperson’s report and the Treasurer’s report.

Until now I have been vaguely aware of the work of the Trust. I have seen their notice boards in the park and knew of their tree and shrub planting initiative, however, I wasn’t at all aware of how active they have been, what they have achieved over the last few years, and what plans they have. Like many such groups they are driven by a small number of enthusiasts but this hasn’t stopped them from thinking big. Indeed, I found the meeting exciting and inspiring. I was struck by one comment from the Treasurer, ‘We aim to raise money and spend money.’ He expressed some disappointment that they ended the year with more funds than they started with but this was because some projects that had been approved had not yet been completed. In their last financial year they had gained £19,000 in assorted grants, much from various pots controlled by GCC but also from others. Projects had been delivered by manpower from Friends of Victoria Park, but also from cultivating links with other groups, such as the Scouts, Glasgow Warriors, and various corporate groups. There have been improvements to seating, the arboretum, the fruit tree field (they are trying to avoid calling it an orchard), and the biodiversity garden. They have plans for a dirt track, netball and basketball areas, a softening of the edges to the pond, and much more. They expressed some disappointment and frustration at the things they have not yet achieved but this only served to emphasise the scale of their thinking.

From Thornwood’s perspective I expressed a sense that we feel isolated from the Park due to the road network, although I know WCC are attempting to tackle this from the Liveable Neighbourhood angle. This is something I think TCC should fully support as it will bring significant benefits to TCC residents. 

Colin Price, October 2024