DRAFT MCTCC Full Meeting Minutes, 28th April 2026
Attendance
| Community Cllrs | Scott Thornton; Niall McColl, Ross Naismith, David Hughes, Gordon Millar; Gary Atkinson, Ros Atkinson, David Cowan; Alice Cowan; Peter Hayman |
| Councillors | Bailie Christy Mearns, Cllr Philip Braat |
| Residents | PP, TD, CD, NM |
| Online (Zoom) | EM, JR, GF, AC, TT, AM |
| Police Scotland | Inspector Lisa McDonald, PC Chris Convery |
1. Welcome and Apologies
Scott Thornton welcomed everyone.
Apologies: Cllr Millar, Cllr Bolander, Gregor McIntryre (from MP Office), Rachel Angus, EM
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting on 24th February 2026
Adoption proposed by David Hughes and seconded by Alice Cowan.
The Secretary will notify Glasgow City Council.
3. Police Report
PC Convery gave the latest crime statistics: from 1-28 April, there were 122 crimes reported in our area of which 51 were detected and 71 undetected. These figures may change as enquiries continue. They have been monitoring specific streets in our area at the public’s request.
PC Convery noted the dispersal zone has not led to an increase in crime around the border areas. There were the same number of crimes as last month.
Dispersal Zone
Inspector Lisa McDonald reported how the police have been implementing the new Dispersal Zone in Glasgow city centre. They have issued 438 warnings with 43 arrests (14 of which involved other offences) since the zone was introduced on the 20th of March.
They are reviewing this weekly and checking if there is any impact on nearby areas. They also have fortnightly meetings with organisations such as The Refugee Council and Barnardo’s.
Police Questions
Cllr Braat asked if there was any discussion about extending the 3-month trial period of the Dispersal Zone. It will be reviewed; it was noted how the World Cup starts on 11th of June until the 19th July; then the Commonwealth Games start at the end of July into early August.
PC Convery whose beat is in the city centre has noted less crime and business owners feel the city centre is safer and there is less pilfering.
PP asked if the cctv camera on South Portland Bridge is working, PC Convery confirmed it was.
Cllr Braat noted the media is reporting daily how retail crime has risen and that security guards have been told not to intervene when they spot shoplifting. Lisa McDonald noted that Glasgow Police investigate any value of crime. Other forces in the UK may not respond to crimes of a low value.
Scott tried to call 101 today after observing drug dealing but the wait time was so long he gave up. He wondered what crimes are being missed due to call wait times.
TD reported to the police that around a dozen cars had been going down Candleriggs, around Sunday afternoon, making excessive noise, so much so that it upset pets and children. PC Convery will follow up with businesses.
Scott noted that cctv cameras are currently monitored from 3pm to 3am. Bailie Christy Mearns said money was voted on to increase funds to move to 24 hour monitoring. Niall and Gary visited the cctv headquarters last week. It is understood they are in the process of hiring new staff.
Football Celebrations
Scott and Gary had a meeting with the police last week. Regarding the football fan celebrations, a meeting is to be held with a representative from Calton CC, Louise Hamilton from GCC Events Team and the head of GCC;’s Public Relations. However, Chief Executive Susan Millar declined to meet us due to being involved in her work as the Returning Officer for the Scottish Parliamentary Elections on the 7th of May.
Scott asked if there had been any licence applications from Celtic or Rangers for holding an event. Cllrs will make enquiries. GCC CEO Susan Millar has had 10 meetings with these football clubs. The police have the emergency powers to close pubs and off-licence premises. Bailie Mearns brought this up at the meeting she arranged some months ago however the view then was that the threshold may not be met during football fan celebrations.
Cllr Braat understands the community needs to have this resolved. He and Bailie Christy Mearns will continue to press for a solution.
She said there is a wider problem that Glasgow has with needing alcohol to enjoy events. Scott noted a police report from Aberdeen which showed that crime increased when licensing hours were extended substantially.
E-bikes
The police have been stopping e-bike riders and discussing road safety issues.
Gordon has seen groups of teenagers with large electric bikes acting recklessly. There were other people going to and from, work in excess of 30mph. The area near the Clutha Bar on Clyde St is so congested with traffic, pedestrians and cyclists it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurts.
Niall McColl noted that the signage for bike riders at the junction is misleading. Scott recalled how MCTCC raised concerns over a year ago but was told the junction would be fixed once the relevant Avenues projects were complete.
4. University of Strathclyde Social Innovation Cluster (Manish Joshi)
This was cancelled due to the speaker’s illness but will hopefully be scheduled soon.
5. Elected Member Reports
Cllr Philip Braat noted there have been discussions between the football clubs and GCC. He understands MCTCC are liaising with Calton CC about this also. He would like to see a long-term solution, ideally with a designated venue and regulated licence and security. Businesses and residents should not feel threatened.
He will continue to seek to resolve the early collection of glass waste by private refuse companies which has caused a nuisance to residents in Ingram Street.
The deep cleans have been going around Ward 10 and more suggestions are invited.
There is a walkabout organised on the morning of 19th of May starting at St Enoch Square.
Clyde Street Works
There is a Maxwell St / Fox St demolition notice got a planned hotel/serviced apartments development. . Ross objected to this planning application last summer. The 19-storey application was rejected by the GCC Planning Committee in November. The developers have appealed and a Scottish Government Reporter will visit the site. before making a decision, Ross was invited but will not attend as his views on the application are on record already.
Cllr Braat has passed on our concerns regarding the fake carpark/derelict site on Clyde Street to the head of the planning department but has not heard back.
The enforcement notice ordered compliance by the 8th of April. GCC say they have been unable to identify who owns the land. Scott noted this was reported over a year ago and believes GCC should go ahead and clear the site up.
Recycling Bins Not Being Emptied
Gordon reported the Metropole Building’s large recycle bins are full and cannot wait for another month to be emptied. He finds it concerning how recycling is what we want to encourage but it is the one part of the cleansing system which does not work very well, whereas general waste is collected regularly. People are having to put recycling materials into general waste.
About 3 months ago MCTCC requested additional glass recycling bins which we are still waiting for. There is a red glass recycling bin in Howard St (introduced following MCTCC’s request).
Scott noted that we asked if bins could be located on private land, such as NCP and Network Rail but were refused. David Hughes noted that there was a website which showed where recycling facilities were located.
Peter Hayman noted the bins on Garth St are meant to be emptied every 8-days but it is now done so on a 16-day basis. The bins are overflowing before the end of the first week.
Niall reported that some buildings do not have any recycling facilities and must use the Bell St recycling area which is not large enough. The bins are emptied on Tuesdays but are full by Friday. He raised this issue some years ago but there was no response from GCC.
Gary wondered if there is duplication of street cleaning between the deep clean teams and other departments. David Hughes noted the community clean teams are also making a difference such as the Garment Factory and the last litter pick organised by Rachel.
Cllr Braat has had reports of similar problems in other areas and agreed this was not a recent issue. It is now happening more frequently and he asked Gordon and Niall to email him with details. He is looking for a sustainable solution to getting recycling bins emptied on a regular basis and will enquire about the underlying cause.
Bailie Christy Mearns Report
There has been an update for the 7 charities based at 103 Trongate. They have secured funding from GCC and Glasgow Life to support rental costs until March 2027. A framework for continued dialogue has been put in place and part of this is to consider taking the building out of the City Property portfolio.
Provisional Plans have been proposed to pedestrianise Union St to which she has been asked to be involved should this find wider support. She has asked for a masterplan to be produced for transformative change since the fire which destroyed the building at junction with Union St. This may include other roads such as Mitchell Street, Miller St and Candleriggs which could be closed off to traffic.
She has been asking for better lighting under the Argyle St rail bridge, aka Hielanman’s Umbrella, as the area needs improvement. There was a road upgrade undertaken there recently however it is felt that it should have been more comprehensive. She is talking to the Network Rail Strategy Team about this.
She has taken note of the conversation on recycling in general and will feed back. She was contacted by group ‘Hope In Place’ based in Virginia St. They have completed a feasibility study of the local area and want to initiate greening projects in the city centre.
She has been contacted by the Clutha Vaults about opportunities near to the river during the Commonwealth Games or in front of the Briggait.
Questions for Bailie Mearns
Scott has observed a large amount of litter next to the Clyde riverbank between Saltmarket and the Clutha junction. This has been reported previously to GCC. Bailie Christy Mearns recalled there was funding allocated to cleaning this area in the Avenues project. David Hughes recalled at the presentation that what they spoke about was mainly cutting back vegetation.
A resident asked if ‘plug-in solar panels’ will be allowed on flat balconies; these have become popular in Europe. Gordon noted the lack of use of solar panels in our area and others. This would imply there may be regulation restrictions but it is not known what these are.
The Planning Dept. emailed Ross about the Ropeworks Lane application (Pipeworks). Objections have been submitted and he has been assured they will be collated on the GCC Planning Portal. He has been in contact with Bailie Mearns about the delay in the general planning process.
Ross agreed with Bailie Mearns about his disappointment at the outcome of the Hielanman’s Umbrella. The Gordon St and Union St fire site deserves a quality replacement .
A civic engineer reached out to MCTCC about 18 months ago for Virginia Court however this stalled. He remains open to discussing ideas.
On Ingram St and Candleriggs he asked for a meeting with Sustainable Transport. He and Gary went to see them about another matter and they spoke about Candleriggs. He would like to know what the plans are to complete the project.
Sustainable Transport went ahead with the Ingram St /Queen St roadworks. David Hughes noted Candleriggs was mentioned at the AP meeting which they said would be completed with money from another source.
Ross welcomed her comments about traffic in the city centre, MCTCC was not consulted and it has not seemed to make the situation any better.
Rachel is applying to GCC for a contribution from the Minor Improvement Fund to tidy up and improve street furniture in the Merchant City and surrounds. She is concerned about the pavement being used to store goods, causing obstructions. She will be attending the AP meeting this Thursday.
6. Follow-Up from Previous Meetings
There were no matters this month.
7. Local Place Plan (LPP)
David Hughes submitted the MCTCC’s LPP to neighbouring CCs for reply by the 21st of April. Tricia Fort from Calton CC, and Laurieston CC replied with complimentary comments. Blythswood and Broomielaw CC sent us their LPP to which he has replied. Scottish Enterprise, GCC City Property, Artisan Real Estate and Strathclyde University have not responded.
He attended the City Development Plan 2 (CDP2) meeting on the 31st of March. He, and other CC representatives were disappointed when told they could not share details of what it contained as it had not been submitted to the Committee.
Michael Ward, NRS Team Manager Planning (Spatial Strategy) sent an email that our LPP would be included in CDP2 and would be allowed comment on this. However, in an online presentation, David was informed that we had missed the deadline for this. He has since learned it will be included.
The City Development Plan (CDP1) was published in 2017 and updated 5 years later He had asked if the same timetable for CDP2 would be used to publish framework documents and was told the current frameworks would remain. It is not clear then where our LPP, and others, will be fitted in.
8. Planning
Ross Naismith noted the planting of 48 mature trees, taking the total to 60, in George Square.
The Old Wynd. Osborne St (Dominus) site has been sold.
The GCC planning process is taken too long from submittal to a decision, in some cases up to a year. This leads to developers selling.
He is expecting Custom House Quay to be approved soon, likewise King St Carpark.
On the PBSA site at the top of High St and George St, he was told a decision has been made but not published as yet.
He had a positive meeting about the Parnie St area regeneration with Rachel, Cllr Millar and Richard Watson from City Property. He has submitted ideas following this meeting.
He and Scott are looking to open dialogue with Praxis to see if they would be looking to improve the Stockwell St, Howard St and St Enoch Square.
There are 3 things going on with trees, separate from the Avenues Project. Rachel Smith is dealing with the trees at the far end of Ingram St. He has spoken to NRS group about where new tree planting might be possible. He is looking to try and have trees planted along Argyle St, up High St, Mercat Cross and Duke St and Ingram St.
9. Licensing
Gary Atkinson notified MCTCC about licence application No. GC278: –
Provisional Premises Licence – Nido by Nonnas Kitchen, Unit 1, 5 Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ – Open to 1am, off sales from 11am to 10pm. Objections by 21st May.
Scott reported that TRNSMT application to show Scotland vs Morocco which may finish as late as 2am on 20th of June. This has been objected to along with Calton CC (following the meeting it was confirmed that the Licensing Board would hear the application on 20 May and MCTCC has been invited to send a representative).
GCC gave permission to extend licensing hours during the World Cup for premises that regularly show sports.
A resident noted a public house on Candleriggs had live music on the 19th of April, with the doors open until after 11pm. The noise team were contacted but did not respond.
10. External Groups
David Cowan sent reports about recent meetings of the Joint Action Group (JAG) and a formative meeting of a new group looking have greater representation of CCs.
11. Friends of Ramshorn Graveyard (FoRG)
David Hughes has booked 46 tours. For this Summer He has trained 4 new guides. They have increased tour days to include Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturday mornings.
The Fusion Fund has granted FoRG £200 which covered the cost of printing 6,000 leaflets for which he thanked Niall for his assistance. He shall be delivering these. They have a new banner on the graveyard gates. The tours are available on Eventbrite or by email:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ramshorn-graveyard-tour-tickets-1986717405240?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
12. Treasurers Report
Gordon Millar (Treasurer) reported the MCTC bank balance at 28/4/26 is £9,640.59
No expenses in the month
No outstanding Income, though we expect some film revenue in the next few months.
We are holding £500 in reserve to pay towards the mural on the side of the Social Hub.
13. AOCB
Filming for the Sky TV series Meantime will take place in June In Bell St and Parnie St.
14. Date of Next Meeting:
Tuesday 26th May 2026 – 6.30-8.30pm in City Chambers.