Hope for Fairfield Farmhouse development

Plans for development of a forgotten corner of Elder Park are moving forward with the formation of a working group of key players.

Linthouse Housing Association and Linthouse Urban Village, LUV, who were behind the original £4.5 million project to renovate the Fairfield Farmhouse building at the Govan Road corner, are now working on a scaled down project costing around £1.75 million.

Detailed plans suitable for a planning permission submission, are expected to be ready in a few months’ time.

Following extensive community consultation in January and February last year, the group has worked hard to listen to the whole community and has formed Fairfield Farmhouse Working Group incorporating The Friends of Elder Park, Glasgow City Council’s Land Services, Development and Regeneration Services (DRS), Glasgow South West Regeneration Agency, Social Economy Team in Govan, a Big Lottery advisor, Anniesland College, landscape gardeners and architects.

Ingrid Campbell co-coordinator with LUV fears if work isn’t started soon the derelict farmhouse could collapse. She said: ‘If it goes, this will add great expense to the project.’

John McBride, director of Linthouse Housing Association said: ‘We want a proposal agreeable to everyone and something which is sustainable.’

At various public consultations local people were sceptical of earlier proposals which not only included a re-vamp of the farmhouse but the construction of four, two-storey barns in the corner of the park.

Now the barns have been scrapped and the focus is on the historic farmhouse and yard.

Landmark Churches at Risk

The Heritage Lottery Fund has rejected an application from the Four Acres Charitable Trust for less than £1 million to save and re-vitalise Lansdowne Church on Great Western Road.

Said David Robertson, Project Director at Four Acres: ‘They had six applications totalling £4.5million in front of them at their December meeting. But the Fund had only £1.5 million to give out. We’re in good company, however,’ he added. ‘An application from Glasgow’s St Andrew’s Cathedral on Clyde Street, was also rejected.’

He said it is not the first time the Trust has experienced such a knock-back. ‘We’ve been here before, so we’ll fight on.’ The Trust saved Downhill Church which is now the successful pub/restaurant known as Cottiers.

Roy Henderson, minister of Lansdowne Church of Scotland told the LOCAL NEWS, ‘It is remarkable how well Landsdowne people have taken the news. They are very sanguine about it.’

A major landmark on the skyline at Kelvinbridge, Lansdowne is ‘A’ listed and in need of significant funding for essential repairs and conservation work. The proposal between the congregation and Four Acres Trust was for the Trust to buy the property, obtain grant funding to repair, restore and convert the elegant space for commercial and community use – such as worship for the congregation.

The congregation turned out in force to a public meeting called by Friends of Glasgow West to examine the situation of Church Buildings @ Risk. David Howat speaks for the Friends ad hoc group concerned with Church Buildings @ Risk. He said: ‘Lansdowne and Kelvinside Hillhead Church are among the finest examples of Glasgow’s exceptional Victorian heritage. Their loss would be unthinkable. There is a very real danger either might be lost for ever if a viable and sustainable use cannot be found for them and funding put in place to carry out essential repairs and conservation of important stonework and stained glass.’

He added that the physical condition of both buildings is deteriorating rapidly.

Kelvinside Hillhead church in Observatory Road off Byres Road has a major problem with its roof which was badly damaged by storm a year ago. It had been offered Heritage Lottery Funding but only if the Church of Scotland was prepared to guarantee that the church had a future as a place of worship. That assurance has not been given, so far, so the building’s future is in jeopardy. The interior roof framework has now been seriously affected by the unattended storm damage.

The Friends had called the meeting in Hillhead Library on Wednesday 4 February, to bring attention to the urgency of the situation.

Around 60 people attended on an icy cold evening to hear David Howat, David Martin a conservation and architecture specialist and David Robertson of the Four Acres Trust.

‘There are 165 religious buildings in Scotland on the Civic Trust ‘at risk’ register,’ they were told by David Howat, a solicitor and one of the Friends of Glasgow West. ‘Of these, 25 are ‘A’ listed. And neither Lansdowne nor Kelvinside Hillhead features in the 11 ‘at risk’ in Glasgow.’ He said that such beautiful examples of art and craft were an intrinsic part of the community and irreplaceable parts of the landscape. ‘Each day the dry rot destroys another bit of a building. We wouldn’t let this happen in our close and we shouldn’t let it happen in our churches and communities.’

 

Said Ann Laird, Chair of Friends of Glasgow West, who chaired the meeting: ‘There is an opportunity for innovative answers. Cottiers is just one example.’ She urged anyone concerned with the spectre of losing such landmark buildings from local neighbourhoods to lobby city Councillors and Members of the Scottish Parliament and Westminster MPs.

 

• A challenge to photographers to record the interior of Lansdowne has been made on flickr picture sharing site by tom@clearwood.co.uk The first open day for photographers was on Sunday 8 February.
• Minister Roy Henderson has a blog on Steeple 208 with some interesting insights into how the congregation and the community might proceed.

NHS HQ Opened

Three NHS facilities were praised by Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing when she formally opened the building they all share as their headquarters.

Caledonia House at Fifty Pitches site in Cardonald is home to NHS 24, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the Scottish Ambulance Service among other health agencies. Around 700 employees work there round the clock. ‘This is a fantastic example of joint working,’ said the Cabinet Secretary as she unveiled a brass plaque. ‘It is THE leading example and is no mean feat for everyone involved.’

 

Refurbished at a cost of £1.6m, Caledonia House was built in 2000 and is leased by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for 15 years. The joint project was completed within 18 months.

‘Not only does it provide quality accommodation, the benefits of staff working closely together are already being found. Face to face working transforms contact. Now people aren’t just talking on the phone, they can walk a few steps to see the person they need to talk to. Such integration provides for better patient care,’ said the Minister. ‘This is a fantastic achievement and is thoroughly impressive,’ she said adding her personal thanks for the hard work which had gone into the project.

Andrew Robertson, Chair of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ‘Three bodies was enough critical mass to achieve this. There is no down side. We have quality accommodation, effective joint working where we gain from each other and there is real value for money.’

Alan Watson, Chairman of NHS 24 added: ‘This move is providing an excellent opportunity for better integration, particularly in Out of Hours care which can only improve patient experience in the longer term.’

The Out of Hours service is the largest in Scotland if not the UK and cares for 1.25 million people. ‘Close working partnership put us in a better position to meet the current winter’s higher levels of demand,’ said Andrew Robertson.

William Brackenridge, Chair of the Scottish Ambulance Service Board said: ‘The new facility has improved our ability to answer 999 calls and quickly dispatch the most appropriate response to patients. Altogether, the move adds up to a better service for our patients.’

School Protesters Hijack MSP in Maryhill

An announcement that the Heritage Lottery Fund was giving £1 million to restore the derelict Maryhill Burgh Halls was hijacked by angry parents campaigning to retain their local schools.

While officials were inside looking at the empty shell of a building, about 10 parents arrived and some of them chained themselves to the railings outside.

‘We’ve got to make a stand,’ said Laura McKenna who has a 3-year-old son at Wyndford nursery. ‘Closing the schools will destroy the whole community. They expect us to take our kids a 45 minute walk to a nursery in Summerston. You can’t put a wee one on the bus by themselves. Buses only take one baby buggy at a time and what are you supposed to do to get the older children to school at the same time?

When she exited from the building, MSP Patricia Ferguson, told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘I know these parents well. We’ve had discussions about the situation. I agree with them, it will take the heart out of the community and I’ve made my views known to Glasgow City Council.’

The affected schools are Ruchill Primary, Our Lady of Assumption, St Gregory’s Wyndford and St Agnes’s.

Before the parents had descended on the building, Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland and Billy McAllister, Chair of the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust had both expressed their delight at the funding. Said Colin McLean: ‘This is exciting news and is an important step forward in the revitalisation of modern Maryhill.’

Billy McAllister added: ‘This very substantial grant is crucial for unlocking the balance and deliver our ambitious and much-needed community project. More than five years’ hard work has been put into this. I am confident we soon will be celebrating the re-opening of this much-loved hub.’

 

Councillor George Ryan, Executive Member for Development and Regeneration at Glasgow City Council, said: ‘This is another step towards the full restoration of the Maryhill Burgh Halls and the Maryhill Leisure Centre. When completed, some of the area’s most celebrated buildings will be restored back to their rightful role in the heart of the community.’

Editorial

At the LOCAL NEWS we always have more good stories than we have space to publish them.  Our mission has always been to provide a platform for local information to be shared, examined, discussed, aired and debated. The two LOCAL NEWS titles  – LOCAL NEWS SOUTH and LOCAL NEWS northWESTeast –  continue to do that South of the River Clyde where we have been since 1997 and to the communities on the other side of the river in the West, North and now the East of Glasgow. There is some cross-fertilisation of stories. We believe that the good things and achievements in one area, could be useful in other areas if only people knew about them. What is useful to note this month is that the serious warning of a mental health epidemic forecast by professionals – on the Southside – concerned with people who are in danger of becoming homeless – needs to be taken seriously in every quarter. So we’re using the benefits of our website as well as our traditional LOCAL NEWS papers to spread the word.

St Kentigern’s Medieval Music

Ancient music sings out Glasgow’s story

The rare sound of Medieval music in praise of Glasgow’s Patron Saint, St Kentigern, was heard in Glasgow Cathedral in January.

‘It made my hair stand on end just to hear it,’ said Bailie Catherine McMaster, chair of Glasgow City Council’s Local History and archaeology working group who introduced the event. She said: ‘This connects the past with our present and helps us to learn our own story.’

St Kentigern – a sixth century holy man known also as St Mungo – became known as the first bishop of Glasgow and the city’s patron saint. His legendary miracles are remembered in the bird, tree, bell and fish with golden ring, as seen on the city’s coat of arms.

The music was selected from chants of the Office (service) which were composed especially to celebrate his feast day which falls on 13 January. The manuscript which contains this Office is known as the Sprouston Breviary dated around 1300 and is housed in the National Library of Scotland. It is the only known manuscript which contains both the text and the music for his feast.

Known to a limited number of scholars familiar with early editions of the chant texts, it was brought to public attention during the BBC radio series, Scotland’s Music, by John Purser. Following that, Alan and Rebecca Tavener of Cappella Nova commissioned Dr Greta-Mary Hair and Dr Betty Knott-Sharpe to prepare a performing edition of chants from the Kentigern Office for a concert and recording.

The performance in Glasgow Cathedral was given by Canty and Schola Glasguensis – professional Medieval singers and musicians. Canty director, Rebecca Tavener said: ‘Performances of medieval material would not be possible without the tireless expertise and generosity of very special scholars, Dr Greta-Mary Hair who transcribed and edited the music and Dr Betty Knott-Sharpe, editor and translator of the texts.’

Afterwards, Dr Hair told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘It is always gratifying to hear a good, live performance after having worked on the manuscript.’

* The entire Office will be published later this year by Musica Scotica Trust.

PlatForum Launch New Health Project

The new offices for PlatForum, the mental health organisation in Govan, were officially opened by Nicola Sturgeon, Govan MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and Jenny McGlynn a longstanding member of the South West Community Mental Health Project.

They both cut a ribbon at 31 Burleigh Street, last month.

PlatForum provides information and support and is lead by service users who live in the South West Glasgow area.

Its aim is to provide a voice for people with mental health issues to have a say on how mental health services are run.  They also want the service users and provider to work together and share information.

Eddie Aitken, Secretary of PlatForum said: ‘PlatForum is an organisation that provides a way for service users of local mental health services to have a say in how these are developed. We work closely with a number of local statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure that any changes to our mental health services are done with our input.

So far we have adopted an action plan that sets out the priority areas of work for PlatForum and we’ll be working to meet those over the coming months.’

Maxwell Park Station Adopted

Maxwell Park Train Station has been adopted by a local conservation group under Scotrail’s ‘Adopt a Station’ scheme.

Pollokshields Heritage has transformed the station’s former ticket office and turned it into a community meeting venue and exhibition space. The station adoption was officially launched by Jack Kernahan, author of ‘The Cathcart Circle’ and railway historian.

Jack shared memories of spending time at the station in the early 1960s when he was a pupil at Hutchie Grammar. Jack and his friend Hamish Stevenson helped out at the station in their spare time and did their best to maintain the gardens. Jack also donated some historic artefacts, including station master Tom McPherson’s hat, a map of the surrounding area drawn by a staff member in 1920, and a selection of photos and tickets from the 1960s. One of the photos from 1951 shows the station in the days before the line was electrified. Lighting came from gas lamps and the locomotives on the line were mostly steam powered.

The station was built in 1894 by the Caledonian Railway Company as one of the ten original stations on the Cathcart Circle. Although it was un-staffed by 1987, the building was ‘B’ listed in 1990. By 1996 the building was in serious disrepair, and British Rail actually applied to demolish it, as they subsequently did to Pollokshields West train station. 

Homeless Mental Health Warning

A mental health epidemic looms as evictions and house repossessions dramatically increase the number of people likely to become homeless.

Three agencies which worked together to prevent homelessness, have piloted a way to reduce the stress of people facing eviction and to address the often very complex, issues and problems which surfaced with each case.

South West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership, Govan Law Centre and Money Matters, Money Advice Centre combined in an s.11 Partnership – named after section 11 of the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003, which comes into force on April 1.

Because the person in difficulties was seen by the same professional from the beginning, trust was gained and the clients all praised the help they had received. ‘It was so good to have someone on my side,’ said one. ‘They helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel,’ said a young mum.  But almost everyone developed mental or physical illnesses as a result of facing homelessness.

The s.11 Partnership saved the public purse between £24,000 and £80,000 per client and up to £7,000 per client in NHS spend. But their report ‘Prevention of Homelessness Partnership Evaluation’ by Danny Phillips Associates published at the beginning of February stated that the s.11 Partnership is not sustainable if voluntary organisations such as theirs have to supplement the costs from reserves.

*In January the s.11 Partnership recorded a 66% increase in their workload with 501 new cases of potentially homeless people asking for help.

Castlemilk Pool Re-Opened

Castlemilk Swimming Pool has re-opened following a £5m renovation. The building closed over two years ago when it was discovered that the 1970’s-built structure was deteriorating. The facility now features three new pools with a 120-seat viewing gallery, a dance studio and a fitness suite.

Councillor Archie Graham said: ‘The re-opening of Castlemilk Pool after its refurbishment will delight the local community. The new layout of the pool, alongside the revamped health suite, provides the people of Glasgow with another first-rate sports facility.’

The pool officially re-opened on Monday 2 February. Councillor John McKenzie told the Local News: ‘I intend to visit in the very near future with my 3 year old grandson. I am totally delighted that at last the pool is open. After so many false dawns I know that the people in the area will also be delighted. I have had a constant stream of people asking when the pool would be re-opened.’

The closure of the pool left Castlemilk residents with a 5 mile journey to the nearest swimming pool at Gorbals Leisure Centre or a 6 mile journey to Bellahouston. Eastwood Pool is a similar distance but there are no direct public transport links between the two locations. Holyrood Sports Centre offers swimming facilities but only 2 evenings a week and on Saturdays.

 

Next Page »