Progressing last month’s ‘Future of Shawlands’ meeting was of high importance for the members and residents who met at this month’s Shawlands and Strathbungo Community Council meeting held last week at Shawlands Academy.
Shawlands and Strathbungo Community Council Chair Andrew Montgomery proposed making use of the upcoming Glasgow City Council elections to achieve this goal. There was unanimous agreement to his suggestion that the Community Council write to all parties and individuals running for office asking them what their manifesto would say about Shawlands and the Shawland’s Town Centre.
Montgomery was pleased with the support for last month’s meeting but was keen to maintain the focus on finding a solution. The Shawlands Town Centre Action Plan is due to be finalised by May but there was discussion at last week’s meeting suggesting that the Glasgow City Council early May elections would delay the final document.
Shawlands has been categorised as a Tier 2 or ‘major’ town centre by Glasgow City Council. Montgomery said:- “When you look at it, in the last 10 years Shawlands is the only Tier 2 Town Centre that has had no investment.” He compared it to other Tier 2 town centres in Glasgow which had seen considerable amounts of money invested.
Other people attending the meeting echoed this need for investment. One person didn’t think Shawlands was going to survive without immediate action. Last week three shops shut and three more are set to close soon. Rates and footfall were said to be contributing factors.
A local resident commented that Shawlands was ‘a fantastic area’ and it was ‘what a vibrant urban area should be.’ She had already taken part in many community activities to enhance and clean up the area.
A number of ideas on how to improve Shawlands were said to have come out of February’s meeting. Held on 9 February at Shawlands Academy, the ‘Future of Shawlands’ meeting was attended by Glasgow City Councillors, representatives from Development and Regeneration Services (DRS) and around 90 members of the public. The meeting provided a forum for public concerns and was a chance for the public to comment on the draft Shawlands Town Centre Action Plan. It is thought that DRS are working to distribute the ideas contributed from members of the community.
In addition to Councillor David Meikle‘s report, local police officers delivered the police reports on the Strathbungo, Shawlands and Queen’s Park areas. In response to a resident’s concern regarding the armed robbery at Jim Blair Insurance in late February, the officers said that CCTV footage images had been circulated and they were trying to get a positive identification. They highlighted that there were more officers in the area of Shawlands as a result of this armed robbery and they hoped this would reassure the public.
As part of the Licensing Report an application by Peckham’s V & V Limited was discussed. Peckhams have applied for on and off sales licenced hours in the old Bank of Scotland building at the top of Skirving Street. While there were a couple of people in opposition to this application, many thought that it was a brand that would add value to the area. It was voted that the Community Council would raise no objection to this application.
The next Shawlands and Strathbungo Community Council Meeting will be held on Thursday 5 April, 7pm at Shawlands Academy.