Month: November 2025

Minutes of Annual General Meeting of Merchant City and Trongate Community Council held on 28 October 2025 in City Chambers from 6 pm.

These draft minutes will be presented to our 2026 AGM for approval

Attended by: Scott Thornton (Acting Chair), Gary Atkinson, Rosalind Atkinson, Alice Cowan, David Cowan, David Hughes, Niall McColl, Gordon Millar, Alasdair McDougall (MSP Kaukab Stewart’s office), Gregor McIntyre (MP John Grady’s office), Ross Naismith, Councillor Philip Braat, CM, GF, AH, TMcK, JS, NM, EM, AC.

Apologies: Rachel Angus, Baillie Christy Mearns, GW

1. Minutes of last AGM held on 26 November 2024

Adoption proposed by Niall McColl, seconded by David Cowan. Approved.

2. Chairperson’s Annual Report

This had been submitted in advance to Community Councillors by co-Vice Chairs Gary Atkinson and Scott Thornton in the absence of Chair Tam Coyle who had announced he was taking temporary leave of absence from Community Council work.

Scott Thornton read out an abbreviated version of this report (below) with the full report to be posted on the Community Council website. The full version can be viewed in our report on the meeting.

“In 2025 Glasgow city centre began undergoing its biggest upgrade in half a century, with many streets being redesigned into Avenues.

Several of the biggest projects, including redevelopment of George Square, are in the Merchant City and Trongate Community Council (MCTC) area so it has been a particularly busy 2025. The pace is going to accelerate in 2026 and beyond.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games will bring tens of thousands of visitors to Glasgow. All this has coincided with the 50th anniversary of Community Councils in Scotland.

On the Glasgow City Council (GCC) level, office bearers have held many high level meetings with officers to present local residents’ views, aspirations and suggestions. Credit for much of this goes to our Planning Lead, Ross Naismith.

On a broader front MCTCC is closely involved with the Area Partnership of Community Councils within Ward 10. At the most recent meeting we secured funding for the renovation of the Tron Tower steeple and will continue to press for our area to receive its fair share of allocations from the Area Partnership’s Neighbourhood Infrastructure Improvement Fund.

Next year GCC will unveil its new City Development Plan (CDP), shaping Glasgow for the next 5-10 years, and MCTCC has been playing its part.

Under the leadership of David Hughes we’ve drafted our own Local Place Plan (LPP) which will feed into the CDP. This is one of the most important documents ever prepared by this Community Council and will include feedback from local residents gathered in person during public consultation outings in the St Enoch Centre and Trongate and from an online survey.

We need more local residents to join us to help fulfil one of the main aims of our Constitution which is ‘to act as a voice for the local area on any matters affecting the community’s lives, welfare and environment.’

Last but certainly not least, we would like to pay tribute to Tam Coyle who has a remarkable record of 20 years as a Community Councillor and has led MCTCC with distinction. We look forward to his return to continue to provide guidance and inspiration.”

Report adoption proposed by Ross Naismith, seconded by Gordon Millar. Approved.

3. Treasurer’s submission of independently examined statement of accounts

Gordon Millar submitted the attached accounts for the year from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025.

Adoption proposed by Scott Thornton, seconded by Niall McColl. Approved.

It was noted that these had not been signed off by the independent auditor who has been unavailable recently. Gordon will ensure this is done and the final signed version forwarded to Glasgow City Council.

4. Review of the inventory an additional resources

Included in the above submission.

5. Demit of Office Bearers

The following office bearers stepped down:

• Chair – Tam Coyle
• Vice-Chairs – Gary Atkinson and Scott Thornton
• Secretary – Scott Thornton
• Treasurer – Gordon Millar

6. Nominations for the elections of office bearers and representatives

• Chair – Scott Thornton proposed by Ross Naismith, seconded by Niall McColl.
• Vice-Chair – Gary Atkinson proposed by Scott Thornton, seconded by David Hughes
• Secretary: Niall McColl proposed by Scott Thornton, seconded by Ross Naismith
• Treasurer: Gordon Millar proposed by Niall McColl, seconded by David Hughes

The following representatives were confirmed:

• Area Partnership – David Hughes proposed by Scott Thornton, seconded by Alice Cowan. Substitute: Gary Atkinson
• Planning Lead – Ross Naismith proposed by Scott Thornton, seconded by David Hughes
• Licensing Lead – Gary Atkinson proposed by Scott Thornton, seconded by Ross Naismith. Substitute: Rosalind Atkinson
• Joint Action Group representatives: Rachel Angus and David Cowan

7. Continuation of the Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils.

The Community Council’s adherence to this was noted.

8. Appointment of the independent Examiner of Accounts for the next year

The meeting agreed to Gordon Millar’s proposal that this should be carried out again by Iain McGuire CA.

9. Appointment of Associate Members

The meeting agreed to Scott Thornton’s proposal that Peter Hayman be re-appointed in this role.

10. Date of next Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 27 October 2026.

DRAFT Meeting Minutes, 28^th October 2025

Attended by: Scott Thornton (Chair), Niall McColl, Ross Naismith, Gordon Millar, Gary Atkinson, Ros Atkinson, David Hughes, Rachel Angus, Peter Hayman, Cllr Angus Millar, Cllr Philip Braat, Cllr Eva Bolander, Inspector Watters Community Policing, Alasdair McDougall for Kaukab Stewart MSP and Gregor McIntyre for John Grady MP.

Residents: CM, JS, RA, GF, AH, TMcK, PP, MG, AC, TD, AY and EM.

By Zoom video: EM, NM and AC.

1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

Scott Thornton welcomed everyone.

Apologies: Baillie Christy Mearns and GW.

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING ON 30^th SEPTEMBER

Adoption proposed by Ross Naismith and seconded by Niall McColl.

The Secretary will notify Glasgow City Council.

3. POLICE REPORT

The Police briefing from 1st to 28th of October noted a total of 114 crimes of which 59 had been detected and 55 undetected. The most common types of crimes have been theft from retail premises, possession of controlled substances, road traffic violations and disorder related offences.

The Retail Crime Task Force continue to be active in the city centre.  The Community Policing Team are planning the local festive action plan. They liaise with GCC, British Transport Police and other partner agencies to formulate a robust response. The police have been monitoring Virgina St, Glassford St, Argyle St and lanes of Trongate. Both teams utilise proactive policing methods.

Scott asked where the crimes are being committed. Inspector Watters said Beat 11 around Central Rail Station and Argyle St. Opportunity theft from shops is a UK issue, not just Glasgow.  The major retail grocery stores are most common targets. Night time economy also tests Police resources. There are 65 officers out on a Saturday night in the city centre.

They work with door staff and Glasgow Street Pastors: https://www.gsp.scot/

The Police have noted a change in drug taking habits whereby it is now more done by smoking. It has been observed that car parks or secluded areas are commonly used.

Police Questions

A resident reported how a master fob for door entry in streets is being obtained by drug users. A service button can allow entry before 1pm to some buildings. Drug paraphernalia littering and noise are upsetting to residents. Telephone wait times to the police are lengthy and response times slow. Residents requested more police monitoring of the Merchant City.

Inspector Watters agreed to meet with the residents and talk and advise community police about the situation.

He explained the Safe Consumption Rooms have an outreach service who will come out and discuss matters.  A resident suggested using the Police Scotland online form may get a quicker response than phoning 101.

Gary noted that the police have to deal with many issues and can be called away when another more serious matter arises, requiring a substantial number of officers.

A resident reported a spate of graffiti on many walls, shops and street furniture including Calton, High St and Trongate at the weekend. Sectarian graffiti is part of this problem. Inspector Watters explained graffiti is hard to tackle. To make an arrest the offenders need to be ‘caught in the act’, captured on CCTV, or have witnesses.

Residents have asked for CCTV but were told this is not allowed on public areas inside and outside their premises. It could identify perpetrators or deter them.  Niall noted the MyGlasgow app can be used to report graffiti, under the ‘Other section’, to have it cleaned-up by GCC, as well as repairs and fixes such as overflowing bins.  Cllr Millar confirmed this.

4. ELECTED MEMBERS’ REPORTS

Cllr Braat has fed back by email on the issue of feeding the birds. Cllr Braat has been investigating the bird feeding issue in the city centre and provided feedback regarding littering and signage. He will report back to the community council when he has more information. No hawking service has been implemented by the council, but he will continue to make enquiries.

Fines have been imposed for littering. However, there is no legal basis for the introduction of street hawking.

Collaboration between retail security staff across the city centre has proved effective in deterring shoplifting.

He met with the Police today when e-bikes were discussed. The police confirmed they continue to confiscate them when they are not compliant with legislation. Traffic safety is a priority; greater emphasis will be allocated as we approach the festive period.

Baillie Mearns has set up a meeting with Police Scotland and other elected members.

Tomorrow he will attend, with Cllr Millar, a meeting with First Bus.

Cllr Braat Questions

Eileen Mills (EM) has been in correspondence with the Planning department regarding the fans on the roof of the City Halls. No planning permission was applied for these when installed some years ago. There was at first confusion about who owned the building. She followed up with the Scottish Government Ombudsman who urged GCC Planning to respond.

Peter Hayman met with Baillie Means today about this. As previously detailed, private flats have been approved on the adjoining NCP car park land at Ingram St. This was approved by a Scottish Government Reporter. Peter contends that the noise pollution from the fan noise ought to be considered.

Rachel asked if it was possible to start a training programme on how best to use cycle lanes and for the public and delivery riders. Cllr Braat said this will be considered. GCC officers are keen to remain focussed on young people and children’s safety, in particular regarding the speed at which bikes are ridden on pavements.

 

Cllr Millar gave feedback by email on issues raised at last month’s meeting. There has been further engagement with The Avenues Team and more feedback to MCTCC will follow.

At the last meeting he discussed the funding agreed for the South Portland Bridge. He is awaiting more details about what plans are being prepared.  City Property are making a report about the empty shops in Trongate. When he has this information, he will arrange a meeting.  He has a meeting with Inspector Watters.

There has been a 40% increase in cycle journeys promoted under the Active Travel Strategy. GCC put out awareness information about new rules in the Highway Code for cyclists. This applies to delivery companies too.  However, these are hard to enforce if a breach is reported. This can be due to not knowing which delivery company they are working for. MCTCC has said that there ought to be some form of ID issued to riders. Cllr Millar explained it was up to the UK Licencing authorities to initiate such an identification scheme.

Scott asked Gregor McIntyre to raise this with John Grady MP.

Cllr Millar Questions

Scott thanked him for his work helping MCTCC liaise with The Avenues Teams’ projects.

Ross Naismith asked about the defunct poles issue. Cllr Millar is awaiting information from the GCC Officer who attended the walkabout three weeks ago.

Cllr Millar will be notified when GCC has recruited a Co-ordination Officer to monitor trees in the streets and other issues. This may not be in the short term as it is a lengthy process to recruit and train new staff.

Ross gave an update on the Avenues. There has been an exchange of correspondence between Avenues team and RN. There will be a technical review, which he requested, on 20th November with the George Square team. There will be a review of the High Street proposals who will give a presentation at the next MCTCC full meeting on the 25th of November.

He has followed up with the Argyle St East Avenue Team. He has put his recommendations to them and has been told none of these can be met. Avenues team have agreed to commission more artist’s renderings of the proposals for public display.

Cllr Bolander reported that due to the ongoing works in George Square the Christmas tree this year will be installed at Glasgow Cathedral, and the Christmas Fayre will be based in Glasgow Green.

Cllr Bolander is a member of the High Street renovation group and would like to see greater shop usage and empty properties occupied.   She is hoping to get a list of empty properties.

She asked for residents to contact her in relation to dog fouling. GCC enforcement officers can investigate if there have been violations of the law. She has Councillor surgeries in other areas of the city but does not have a venue in the city centre. So, she asked if people in the MCTCC area wish to contact her to do so directly. A meeting will then be arranged.

She commends MCTCC for having put-up posters in many areas to encourage people to take part in the MCTCC Local Place Plan survey.

The Glasgow Get Active fund is now open:

https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/sport/funding/get-active-glasgow-fund

Also, there is now some free training from the Scottish Drug Forum; details can be found at:  https://www.sdftraining.org.uk/training

Cllr Bolander Questions

Scott confirmed that the surgery details for elected members would be posted on the MCTCC website. Ward Councillors who have not yet provided these should do these via the Secretary.

Ross said the Parnie St consultation is one the initiatives to raise property standards which will also be enhanced by the new King St car park development.

Cllr Bolander reported new funding has been allocated to renovate tenements. This will be done by City Building. Renovation work on the High St buildings was completed last year on the upper side, and new works are continuing. Rachel enquired if the work would extend to the Parnie St area and this was confirmed.

EM noted a large pothole in Parnie St near the junction of Chisholm St.

David Cowan asked if the redundant BT phone boxes on Trongate and elsewhere in the city centre could be removed. Cllr Millar agreed and asked for this to be put in an email to him.

5. LOCAL PLACE PLAN (LPP) & MATTERS ARISING

David Hughes explained how the MCTCC LPP will be part of the next GCC City Plan. This is a 5 year plan which lists in detail what GCC policies are.

We have developed a draft LPP and have concluded our survey of local residents to see what their main issues are, e.g. such as how local land is used or lack of social housing.

Posters have been designed and printed including a QR code, website details and dates and locations where we would be present and handing out leaflets. The closing date of the survey is the 31st of October.

The results will allow the LPP to be amended, after which it will be submitted to GCC for validation. After this, it will be sent-out to our neighbouring community councils.

6. FOOTBALL FAN CELEBRATIONS

Alasdair McDougall from Kaukab Stewart MSP’s office informed us a second summit will take place at Hampden Park in December. It will be attended by many of the stakeholders who attended the first meeting on 28th February.  Cllr Millar noted that elected members are meeting this week and we will be fed-in afterwards.

7. PLANNING

Ross Naismith gave a brief report on several planning applications: –

King St carpark – He attended a meeting with case officers.  He commended the planning application with five points for review.

He has concerns about the time taking for applications to go through the planning process. Greater transparency of applications is required.

The Maxwell St Radisson hearing is now on the 18th of November. It is being considered by GCC Senior Officers. RN has requested that the proposals are  formally presented to MCTCC.

Trongate and Hutchinson St: the student accommodation application has been withdrawn on a technicality but will proceed later.

Candleriggs: Further to a meeting in September, a recent email said it has progressed to the ‘technical stage’ to formulate plans. He has asked for these plans to be presented to MCTCC when ready.

The Queen St and Ingram St pedestrianisation is being considered.

Scott is setting up a meeting with the new director of the St. Enoch Centre. Cllr Bolander noted how plans for Buchanan Shopping Centre have changed, and this may be the case for changes for St Enoch’s. We have now recovered from the drop in shoppers after Covid.

Cllr Millar gave an update on ‘the Golden Z’ of Sauchiehall St, Buchanan St and Argyle St. It remains a core part of the City Centre Strategy.

8. LICENSING

Gary has seen no licensing applications this month. There is a joint group meeting for the Glasgow Licensing Board on the 5th of December.

Scott noted an online meeting about Short Term Lets on the 12th of November.

9. AREA PARTNERSHIP AND JAG

David Cowan and Rachel Angus will be the Joint Action Group representatives.

10. FRIENDS OF RAMSHORN GRAVEYARD (FoRG)

David Hughes reported over the summer there were 15 tours, including by the Impact Acts and Project Ability charities. FoRG is now looking to add capacity for tours and has asked for volunteers to be tour guides. Thanks to donations they have a bank balance of £1375.44.

11. UPDATES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

These were covered in email correspondence and elsewhere in meetings.

12. RECYCLING FACILITIES

Scott attended a meeting today with Baillie Mearns and others about lack of recycling facilities in our area. They discussed possible locations for new bins.

13. PIGEONS / SEAGULLS

This was covered by Cllr Braat.

14. LEZ FUNDING

MCTCC has lodged a second application to the LEZ fund for more trees in our area.

15. WEBSITE

Niall reported there have been around 1000 views of the website this month this month, the same as last month.  The most popular page was the LPP page. There were 700 visitors to the Facebook site.

The Chair explained how we are hoping to develop the website’s Whats On section.

The repair and cleaning of the MCTCC noticeboards were discussed.

16. FILMING

Gordon will issue an invoice to a film production company recently filming in the area.

17. TREASURER’S REPORT

Gordon Millar reported the bank balance of £8893.22.  We have spent £1000 on the Owl meeting recorder and we have received £3500 from filming donations. 

18. COMMUNITY COUNCIL VACANCY

There is now a vacancy within MCTCC for a Community Councillor (CC). Applicants must be over 16, live within the Ward 10 boundary and be able to attend meetings on a regular basis. More information is available on our new website. If interested, please fill out the webform on the website or send any enquiries to:  [email protected]

 

19. AoCB

David Cowan emailed GCC re. private landlords statistics. GCC said they will provide these in the near future.

Peter Hayman commended the talk by Glasgow historian Neil Baxter with extracts from his new book ‘Greyfriars, Blackfriars and Deep-fat Fryers!’ Cllr Bolander will invite him to an MCTCC meeting, at the request of the Chair.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING: Tuesday 25^th of November – 6.30-8.30 pm in City Chambers.

Annual General Meeting, 28th October 2025

MCTCC were delighted to hold their Annual General Meeting in the City Chambers on Tuesday 28th October 2025.  Our Chair reported on a very busy year – the full report is below, and we also approved the minutes of our 2024 AGM.

Office bearers for the coming year were elected:

• Chairman – Scott Thornton
• Vice-Chair – Gary Atkinson
• Secretary – Niall McColl
• Treasurer – Gordon Millar
• Planning Lead – Ross Naismith
• Licensing Lead – Gary Atkinson
• Area Partnership Lead – David Hughes
• Joint Action Group (JAG) Representatives – Rachel Angus, David Cowan

Our next AGM will be on Tuesday 27th October, 2026.

Chair’s Report to the 2025 AGM

This is submitted by Vice-Chairs Gary Atkinson and Scott Thornton following the decision of Chair Tam Coyle to take temporary leave of absence from Community Council work.

In 2025 Glasgow city centre began undergoing its biggest upgrade in half a century, with a total of 16 streets being redesigned into Avenues.

Since several of the biggest projects, including redevelopment of George Square, are in the Merchant City and Trongate Community Council (MCTCC) area it has been a particularly busy year. The pace will accelerate in 2026 and beyond.

This has coincided with the 50th anniversary of Community Councils in Scotland – a proud record.

On a broader front various actions were taken forward within the Area Partnership (AP) of Community Councils within GCC Ward 10. At the most recent meeting  we secured funding for the renovation of the Tron Tower steeple and will continue to press for our area to receive its fair share of allocations from the AP’s Neighbour Infrastructure Improvement Fund.

On the Glasgow City Council (GCC) level office bearers have held many high level officers to present local residents’ views, aspirations and suggestions. These have notably included discussions, many initiated by our Planning Lead Ross Naismith, on Avenues and related projects. We – and the community – are grateful for his drive, determination and specialist knowledge.

MCTCC has not held back from expressing objections and putting forward alternatives where we believed these were justified and will continue to work with GCC in a spirit of partnership.

On George Square we vigorously, but unsuccessfully, pressed for inclusion of a water feature which we believe would have better highlighted Glasgow’s ambition.

Next year GCC will unveil its new City Development Plan (CDP), shaping Glasgow for the next 5-10 years, and MCTCC has been playing its part.

Under the leadership of David Hughes, and with public consultations co-ordinated by David Cowan and Niall McColl, we have drafted our own Local Place Plan (LPP) which will feed into the CDP. This is one of the most important documents ever prepared by this Community Council. It has highlighted the absence in Merchant City and Trongate of any community park, children’s playpark or community hub. We shall continue to fight for all three.

MCTCC has been among the most pro-active critics of the surge in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and is looking forward to taking part in a GCC public consultation in 2026. Objections are summarised in our LPP which seeks to make better use of land and property.

We have sought a moratorium on PBSAs and an increase on social housing and accommodation for families as GCC seeks to double the city centre population.

We put forward objections by local residents and businesses to planning applications by Homeless Project Scotland for its shelter and kitchen on Glassford Street, and will continue to monitor the situation on their behalf.

During the year we welcomed the arrival of the stylish Social Hub on Candleriggs.

MCTCC helped initiate a top level meeting, convened at Hampden Park by Glasgow Kelvin MSP Kaukab Stewart, with officials of the Scottish Professional Football League, Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and Celtic and Rangers’ football clubs, to try to prevent a recurrence of large scale anti-social behaviour at and around Glasgow Cross by Celtic fans celebrating their team’s Premiership win in May. This has not yet yielded positive results and together with our neighbouring Calton Community Council we will continue to press for a lasting solution.

We have vigorously pursued various campaigns including the need for more recycling facilities, clean-ups of derelict construction sites and abandoned buildings, better control of busking and rough sleeping in the city centre, measures to stop graffiti and deter pigeon and seagull nuisance, and increase the number of trees (preferably planted ‘in ground’), a crack-down on pavement parking, and have called for a moratorium on parades – many of them sectarian.

During the year, under the leadership of David Hughes, MCTCC took the initiative to set up a Friends of the Ramshorn Graveyard (FORG). Tours of this historic graveyard, burial place of many of the city’s ‘Tobacco Barons,’ other rich merchants and city fathers and predating the Necropolis by more than 100 years, attracted 15 public tours and 251 attendees – including members of Impact Arts and Project Ability – over the summer.

We have played our part in improving the local environment by carrying out several litter picks.

MCTCC improved its reach-out to the local community with a new Website (mctcc.scot) which will be further enhanced in 2026 with information on local events and attractions. The main credit goes to Niall McColl who has also significantly increased our presence on Social Media.

We remain most appreciative of the ability to hold our monthly meetings in the splendid and inspiring surroundings of City Chambers and would like to record our appreciation of the assistance of duty management and security staff.

Our thanks go to our Ward Councillors (Eva Bolander, Philip Braat, Baillie Christie Mearns and Angus Millar) for their advice, assistance and interventions during the year. We realise we are only one of the many organisations and committees to which they devote their valuable time. Our constituency MP, John Grady, has also made himself readily available for help and advice.

Our regular meetings with Police Scotland (at Inspector and beat level) have again proved useful and informative. We appreciate police officers attending our monthly meetings to provide reports and answer residents’ questions and requests.

Other than a small annual administration grant from Glasgow City Council we rely on outside donations. Most of these have come from film companies as compensation for the inconvenience caused to local residents. This has allowed us to make contributions to various local good causes.

We are grateful to GCC’s Community Councils’ section which organised and facilitated useful training courses and meetings during the year.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games will bring tens of thousands of visitors to Glasgow and we look forward to playing our part in welcoming them and making Scotland’s largest city an even more pleasant place in which to live and work.

Thanks are due to all Community Councillors who have served during the year. All are volunteers with many other commitments. Giving up much of their valuable time is evidence of their dedication to the local community and Glasgow as a whole.

In addition to Ross, the Community Council has been greatly strengthened in 2025 by the arrival of Rachel Angus who has already been active on many fronts.

During the year Community Councillor Colin McKay resigned. We are grateful to him for his contribution.

We need more local residents to join us to help fulfil one of the main  aims of our Constitution which is ‘to act as a voice for the local area on any matters affecting the community’s lives, welfare and environment.’

Lastly but certainly not least, we would like to pay tribute to Tam Coyle who has a remarkable record of 20 years as a Community Councillor and has led MCTCC with distinction. We look forward to his return to continue to provide guidance and inspiration.