£400m plan for ‘new town’ in north of city

Developers Forge Properties presented their ambitious plans for a new town in the Cowlairs area at an open evening at Keppoch Campus on Stonyhurst Street.

Forge have submitted a planning application for the first stage of the development, called Carlisle Square, which will feature retail space, housing and office space in a town centre plaza. The £100m square will be linked by a large water feature and park to the Keppoch Campus Primary School. 

Carlisle Square is the first phase of a much larger development called Keppochill New Neighbourhood, which will encompass a large part of Cowlairs and Possil. If successful, the full £400m development will create 1,500 jobs and homes for 12,000 people. 

The Carlisle Square site is situated beside the Glasgow – Edinburgh railway line, beside the Morrison Bowmore Distillery whisky bond.   

Developer Liam Muldoon told LOCAL NEWS: ‘We have taken architectural inspiration from the best of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bath.’

Representatives from Cowlairs Development Trust were present to view the plans

Patricia Ferguson MSP was in attendance to view the plans and get more details from the developers.

She said: ‘I am concerned at the Ikea and Ryanair analogy being used by this company to describe the housing, I want to make sure that it is high quality. I am also hoping that there will be a high proportion of social housing included in the plans.’

Cancer Research volunteers hit £1m milestone

A Cancer Research shop on the Southside of Glasgow has broken the £1 million fundraising barrier, thanks to its team of dedicated volunteers.

The shop, at 420/424 Victoria Road, has always been popular with local people wanting to pick up a bargain. But when the Cancer Research UK banner flew over the door seven years ago, things really began to move.

‘We’re more like a mini department store than a shop,’ said Manager Carol Grant, who has been there five years. ‘Everything sells here and we have an excellent team.’

The store’s remarkable performance was arrived at by tallying up every week’s takings over the past seven years.

‘We’ve increased takings by £100,000 a year over five years. We’ve improved footfall with good window displays. Even people going past on the bus have called and asked us to put things aside,’ Carol added.

Critically, the shop has seen its volunteer numbers rise from three to 37.

‘This would not have been possible without the support of the local community,’ said Carol. ‘The stars of the show are the team of volunteers who have worked so hard to make the shop a success.’

While Cancer Research UK’s 4500-strong team of scientists, doctors and nurses continue their work, Carol and her team will be allowing themselves a celebration of their milestone at a local restaurant. Then, it’s back to business. The charity’s volunteers recently staged a weekend bucket collection at a Morrison’s store in Cambuslang, bringing  in £1,650 in 12 hours.

Open doors weekend at Little Einstein’s in Pollokshields

Southside parents are invited to an open day at the newly-launched Little Einstein’s kindergarten in Nithsdale Road, Pollokshield, on Saturday, October 31, between 10.00am and 1.30pm.

Nithsdale House Nursery provides a first-class early learning experience for children from shortly after birth until they are ready for the first days of primary school.

The new facility – the latest in a thriving business with four premises in Tayside and two in Glasgow – has created 20 jobs for a team of qualified and professional carers.

Nithsdale House expands and enhances Little Einstein’s offering of the Hillside Crèche and the Hillside Clubhouse in Mansewood in Glasgow, which meet increasing levels of demand from parents in the surrounding area and beyond.

The new facility, at the corner of Nithsdale Road and Shields Road, provides parents with a safe, secure and nurturing environment where children can progress through the early stages of personal development.

For all 52 weeks of the year, it offers four huge and comprehensively equipped learning areas where children of different ages will be cared for by staff in ratios as intensive as one nursery professional to every three children.

Children also have frequent access to a pleasant and secure outdoor garden area and they are further stimulated by outings to the local community.

Nithsdale House’s cook provides healthy nutritious meals and snacks to cater for all dietary and cultural requirements.

Nithsdale House’s Nursery Manager, Leighann Bain, said: ‘We seek to build a strong and effective working relationship with parents so that they can be satisfied that their child is happy, safe and well-stimulated at all times.

‘We aim to provide an environment in which each child can grow and develop at its own pace and where staff plan responsively to children’s needs to ensure that learning is of the best possible value to children as individuals.’

Football’s hair-erasing game

It was a bitter-sweet afternoon for the Partick Thistle fans who made the 240 mile round trip to Dingwall on Saturday 24 October.

Supporters of the Glasgow club were in good spirits and enjoyed the day, but one or two may have risen on Sunday with slightly fuzzy heads and bare chests.

On the pitch, Ian McCall’s side twice came from behind to secure a draw against Ross County.

The 400-strong travelling support twice roared their team back from a goal behind against a physical and direct County side that  started the day on top of the SFL First Division.

The carry-on, the invention, the bonding and singing of songs is all part of the fun, but there is a line that certain folk crossed and some weren’t far from getting their fingers burnt – after they had scorched off their chest hair. Yes, that’s right, allegedly one guy wilfully set fire to the hair on his own chest.

Today, the Highland constabulary confirmed that while they were well aware of the Glasgow contingent in Inverness and Ross-shire,  no Jags fans were guilty of anything other than enjoying themselves.

And the more extrovert and excitable  Jags’  fans won praise from Thistle manager Ian McCall.

He told www.ptfc.co.uk; ‘The support we got was great but quite how those supporters managed to stand out in the elements with their tops off I don’t know.’

While the majority of such shenanigans are good natured and innocent enough, one or two of the lads caught up in the excitement developed bulletproof syndrome including the young man who quite accusingly asked me why was I ‘no getting involved?’

I suspect he was too far-gone on the Bass Shandy to hear me reply that I’d ‘been involved’ since before he was a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye.

Word is that later that evening, this particular individual – having lost his mates, his mobile, his money and his train tickets – had to spend the night under the kind shelter of the Northern Constabulary HQ in Inverness.

Following health and safety rules, the assisting PC took the lad’s lighter off him before he got into his single room for the night.

Life-saving innovators on the Button

Two young Glasgow entrepreneurs who have created an innovative portable water sanitation device for Third World markets have been given a chance to win £10,000 for their business in a high-profile competition.

James Brown and Amanda Jones, who started Red Button Design, are hoping to scoop the Graduate HSBC Start-Up Stars Award at a gala dinner in November.

Each year 2.2 million people worldwide die from diseases caused by lack of safe water and basic sanitation. Red Button – a name derived from the idea of an ‘emergency stop button’ – aim to reduce this toll, dramatically.

James and Amanda’s brainchild is a 50-litre canister which can be wheeled to a water source and back again. The rotation of the wheels operates a filtration system which makes the water suitable for drinking.

The company have had 40,000 requests for the device so far, while the International Federation for the Red Cross and the World Health Organisation are committed to field-testing the device.

Should Red Button win the award, there will be some heavyweight business backing as they drive their invention to market.

Internet search engine Google will be offering free advertising plus mentoring at their UK headquarters. 

Red Button is one of three companies to secure a place in the Graduate National Finals. They will now go to London to convince the national judging panel that they should be named the Graduate Start-Up Star 2009.

A cheque for £25,000 will be presented at the event to the business named HSBC Start-Up Star 2009 and £10,000 to the best new business trading internationally and the best new green business with the environment at the top of its agenda.

Men sing loud!

Clydebank Male Voice Choir gave their audience a treat at a recent concert in St John’s-Renfield Church in Kelvindale in aid of a childcare and educational centre in India established by two members of the congregation.
In his witty and informative way, Conductor Ronnie Simpson introduced the choir’s dozen songs and four soloists. The range of music was wide – from classic to calypso and touched the heart strings of the appreciative audience. Many who heard the choir for the first time that evening, have marked their next concert in the diary – Thursday 3, Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December in Clydebank Town Hall.
Introduced by Ann Ormerod, who with the late Jen Fisher established the connection in 1999 in Chetpet in Tamil Nadu, South India, the Kelvindale concert raised well over £700 for the Chetpet project.

Following their year long working visit to the area in 1999/2000 the two friends determined to support the local Society for the Welfare and Awareness of Poor and Leprosy Affected People which was directed by social worker Masilamani.
They raised funds for a childcare and education centre in the town. Following Jen’s death in 2002, Ann established PICT – Projects India Charitable Trust – to realise the original vision and to administer Jen’s legacy and to raise additional funds in a joint venture with the Society in Chetpet.
The Ann and Jen Nursery and Primary School was opened in April 2006 with accommodation for volunteers and overseas visitors. It provides education for more than 100 children and is also a community and education centre for adults, especially the mothers of the pupils. Further information on the work of PICT can be found at: www.pictscotland.org.uk

Capoeira straight from Brazil

Glasgow Capoeira enthusiasts benefited from some expert Brazilian tuition when Professor Raul and Mestre Biscuim held a special training session in the city.

Hailing from the city of Recife in the Pernambuco region of Brazil, Professor Raul is establishing a new school to teach the martial art form.

Capoeira is a combination of martial arts and dance, developed by African slaves in Brazil.

The art form has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, with schools throughout Europe, the Americas and Japan.

Performances show a dance ‘battle’ between two competitors, who use playful acrobatic movements to ‘attack’ their opponent and catch them off guard. Regular classes will start up in January, more details and contacts can be found at the group’s website http://www.capoeirabrasilscotland.co.uk/.

On hand to support the session was established Glasgow teacher Fiaz Mohammed, who runs regular classes in the West End and the Southside. Fiaz can be contacted at www.glasgowcapoeira.co .uk.

Crumbling building threat in Mount Florida

Residents in Mount Florida are extremely concerned about the danger of falling masonry from a building in the area.

The close at 1023 Cathcart Road is four storeys high with a restaurant, the Pearl of India, on the ground floor.

Peter Rose lives on Hampden Terrace, just around the corner from the danger site. He reported the problem to the council.

He said: “I have a young family, including a 6 month old baby in a pram and a four year old daughter.

“We pass by there every day, so I am concerned for the safety of my family.

“Even after the fencing was put up there was more masonry falling on to the pavement.

“A larger piece could easily fall off and hit someone or go into the road.”

There is a lane to the side of the building and the corner flats have large round bay windows.

The masonry has been crumbling from the lintel above the bay window of the top floor flat and falling on to the pavement below.

Glasgow City Council has erected safety fencing to keep pedestrians away from the danger area.

A spokesman for the council confirmed that they were aware of the problem and that it was council officials who installed the safety fence.

The council are in dialogue with the owners to address repairs to the property.

The close has no factor at present, so the council is working with the six owners to try and get consensus on what to do. This is expected to add considerably to the timescale for repairs.

Celtic Connections 2010 lineup announced

By Christine Lavelle and Emma Langman

The line up for the 17^th annual Celtic Connections festival has been announced for 2010, with headline acts including Bobby McFerrin, The Chieftains,  Ry Cooder and Natalie Merchant.

Artistic director Donald Shaw unveiled an extensive list of Celtic influenced artists from all over the world, including Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Africa and Norway.

Mr. Shaw said: “We spend all year trying to improve the festival from last year, and are always trying to bring in new acts.”

The festival will open on January 14 with a Torchlight Parade through George Square to Buchanan Street.

Sponsored by Scottish Power, Celtic Connections 2010 will feature around 1500 artists performing in over 300 events taking place over 18 days across 14 venues in Glasgow.

Tribute concerts will be held to commemorate two of the most influential singer songwriters of the past 50 years: Nick Drake and John Martyn.

Festival Club is also set to be a hit, this year it will be held at the Glasgow School of Art.

Festival manager Jade Hewat says that Festival Club is always the best kept secret. She said: “We want it to be quite special and spontaneous, without putting too much pressure on the artists to perform.”

There will also be late night sessions in the Royal Concert Hall for those who just want to sip a drink and take in some live music.

Celtic Connections has undoubtedly benefited the city of Glasgow economically. Last year the festival generated a total of £5.6 million of new output to the Glasgow City Council area – meaning for every £1 of support the festival receives from the council, it produces £30 for the city.

Details at http://www.celticconnections.com/

Saving the Banks

The reputation of the country’s bankers is in tatters but a glimmer of hope lies in a scheme involving primary school kids from Summerston.
Caldercuilt Primary School runs Stash your Cash, a savings program which allows Primary 5, 6 and 7 pupils to save their pennies and pounds.
The scheme started in August of this year and is staffed by six Primary 5 pupils who have been trained by management and staff from the RBS Maryhill Road.
Fiona Rattray, Head Teacher of Caldercuilt Primary School is delighted with it and sees a range of benefits for the kids.
She said; ‘This has been great for the kids and the school. It’s not just about banking and saving money, it introduces the children into a world of work, and allows the kids to learn about responsibility.’
Primary 5 pupils were given the opportunity to be at the forefront as primary 6 and 7s already run the tuck shop, buddy the infants and take positions of responsibility in the school.
And they’ve risen to the challenge, as two of the young bankers explained.
Kieran Black, 9, also a keen footballer told LOCAL NEWS; ‘We collect the money so that pupils can save. We stamp their books and give them a token as a deposit.’
‘It’s great and I’d like to work in a bank when I’m older.’
Cerys Carey, also 9, wants to be Dolphin Trainer when she grows up but is no doubt how helpful being a teller is to her.
She said; ‘It has helped me get better at maths, and lets me speak to the children in P6 and P7.’
The kids are able to deposit but not withdraw while at the school. They can withdraw – while accompanied by parents or guardians – from the RBS branch in Maryhill, but the idea is to get them into what Fiona Rattray describes as ‘the good practice of saving money.’

Next Page »