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DRAFT MCTCC Full Meeting Minutes, 28^th 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 24^th 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 11^th of June until the 19^th 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.

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

tours@ramshorngraveyard.org

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 26^th May 2026 – 6.30-8.30pm in City Chambers.

DRAFT MCTCC Full Meeting Minutes, 31^st March2026

Attendance

Community Councillors	Scott Thornton; Gordon Millar; David Cowan; Alice Cowan; Associate Community Councillor Peter Hayman
GCC Guests	Lise Fisher, David McDonald, John Campbell and Chandra Pollok
Residents	PP; GF, SJ, JM, TD
Online (Zoom)	Ross Naismith, Rachel Angus, EM, JR
Police Scotland	PC Gentjan Rapi, PC Chris Dixon
Other	GF

1. Welcome and Apologies

Scott Thornton welcomed everyone.

Apologies: Cllr Bolander, Bailie Christy-Mearns, Cllr Braat, Gary Atkinson, Roz Atkinson, Gregor McIntryre from MP Office, David Hughes and Niall McColl.

2. Minutes of Previous Meeting on 24th February 2026

Adoption proposed by Alice Cowan and seconded by Gordon Millar.

The Secretary will notify Glasgow City Council.

3. Police Report

PC Dixon gave the latest crime statistics: from the 1st to the 31st of March, there were 118 crimes reported in our area of which 53 were detected and 65 undetected.  These figures may change as their enquiries continue. They have been monitoring specific streets in our area at the public’s request.

Dispersal Zone

PC Rapi reported how the police have been implementing the new Dispersal Zone law in Glasgow city centre. If there is a group of two or more people congregating and are suspected of being a threat to the public or likely to commit a crime, the Police have the power to issue them with a warning and / or tell them not to come to the dispersal zone area for the next 24 hours. If they are seen again in the dispersal zone during this time they can be arrested and taken into custody and a larger time ban imposed.

CP said that 104 people dispersed and 15 were arrested in the first 4 days of the new law.  The police believe they needed these powers due to the number of crimes reported to them. A resident reported this has made the city centre safer and relaxed due to there being less people loitering, drinking or taking drugs. The new law has a trial period of 3 months and it is hoped this will have a long-term effect in the reduction of crime.

Scott reminded attendees that he and Gary, Vice-Chairman, regularly meet police at beat and Inspector level. Issues to be raised at these meetings can be passed to them whenever they arise.

4. NRS Liaison Panel – Needle Bin Statistics Review – Presentation

Lise Fisher (Neighbourhood Liaison Manager), John Campbell and David McDonald (GCC Alcohol and Drug Dependency Section) gave a presentation on the report on the number of needles deposited in the needle bins.

The needle bins were a multi-partnership project between NRS, Street Cleaning and the NHS.  The locations were chosen based on where the largest number of needles were found. The first needle bin was in New Wynd in May 2023.  Additional bins were added to Old Wynd and Adams Court Lane, near to St Enochs Square. NRS attended a MCTCC meeting at that time.

Lise Fisher explained how the statistics gave the approximate number of needle bin deposits: New Wynd, 2000, Old Wynd 1000 and in Adams Court Lane 500 pieces of injecting equipment and paraphernalia.

John Campbell noted there has been a change in drug usage in the city centre, such as a move away from heroin to cocaine. This means that drug users were now injecting themselves more frequently. The needle bins have made the community safer, not least in reducing people’s exposure to discard needles.

David McDonald said they cannot draw a conclusion if The Thistle Service has reduced the number of discarded needles. However, they have overseen over 10,000 injections at the Hunter St service and has helped over 150 intravenous users. This has its own needle disposal facilities of course.

He hoped this would change their behaviour to seek clean and sterile conditions with medical supervision which should help with their health and wellbeing.  More statistics are available on the Thistle website:

https://glasgowcity.hscp.scot/sdcf

5. Glasgow City Business Improvement District – Presentation

Chandra Pollok (Project Manager, Let’s Go Glasgow Business Improvement District) has been working for one year and is pleased to launch the Glasgow Business Improvement District (BID) in April.  Membership is open to businesses whose property has a rateable value (RV) of over £100k. The forecast investment is £14m over the 5-year membership term through its 1.5% levy. The BID can be joined on a voluntary basis.

Chandra Pollok explained how the BID offers additional services to businesses. BID is working with 424 businesses. The website includes a business plan which can be viewed or downloaded at https://letsgoglasgow.com/

The BID business plan priorities are:-

• Cleaner – They have a dedicated cleaning team who will respond quickly to requests for graffiti removal
• Safety – They will have street stewards to monitor the area around businesses
• Vibrant – Marketing and Promotion campaigns
• Empowered – Create new forums of shared expertise to tackle business challenges

They are now recruiting a team to run the BID and will be posting updates on social media.

There are over 33 BIDs across Scotland, there has been one in Edinburgh for 16 years, and Dundee has just established one.

6. Elected Member Reports

Cllr Angus Millar has been progressing the NIF funded street trees plan. As previously reported, the money has been allocated and planning ground surveys to see if trees are suitable for planting in the Merchant City.

He has done further work on getting new signage to inhibit bird feeding by the public and investigating if there is any possible enforcement action available. A communication plan is expected to be published soon.

He has had an update about the work going in George Square and understands that 46 trees are currently being planted there. After this, the ground stonework will be laid.

Regarding the clean-up at Maxwell St and Clyde St he will contact the Planning Dept. about time taken to introduce enforcement measures.

Questions for Cllr Millar

EM enquired if there if the area around the Tron Theatre, including the clock tower and at the entrance on Chisolm St could be cleaned.

TD asked about the disruption due to the fire on Union St / Gordon St.  Cllr Millar reported GCC have been considering what to do with the site once the demolition work is complete and the area reopened. Heritage organisations are trying to chart a way forward for the site.

7. Community Engagement

Cllr Millar was asked about the situation at the 103 Trongate arts venue wherein the charities are facing a large rent increase at short notice by City Property, a GCC ALEO. He confirmed he was aware and has been making enquiries about what can be done to support the charities in this situation. He has asked if GCC can help the charities financially. He understands there are ongoing discussions.

A charity worker present noted there was a meeting about this on Thursday 26th March.  Christy Mearns offered a positive point regarding the protection of cultural and public assets. The charities form a strong function in keeping the arts alive in Glasgow and are now being leveraged to make a profit which is challenging for many.

Scott said there is a wider narrative to be had in reference to keeping the arts alive in Glasgow and the 103 building is a cultural asset in this respect. Cllr Millar understood this point.

Peter Hayman commented in the past Glasgow promoted culture and music and now it has changed, and it should consider how it could do this in the future if it put this kind of pressure on them to continue.

8. Local Place Plan

David Hughes sent his apologies due to attending a City Development Plan II briefing. He provided the following update:-

• A notification letter relating to the Draft Local Place Plan has been approved by the Merchant City & Trongate Community Council.
• The Draft Local Place Plan feedback must be received 22nd April 2026.

9. Planning

Ross Naismith gave his apologies for tonight’s meeting, and sent the following report in the meantime which Scott read out:-

1) Avenues:-

– Email to Ward Councillors, 15th January.

– Overall position.

– GS Lighting Consultant

Condition of Cambridge/ West Nile Streets.

2) Maxwell, Fox Streets/ Appeal.

MCTCC are following up on the appeal by the developer for this.

3) Parnie/ King/ Osborne Area Regeneration, proposals. Being investigated by Ross and Rachel

4) Candleriggs Upgrade, GCC/ ST postponement, email to Ward Councillors, 12th February.

5) Ingram Street and Queen Street alterations, GCC/ ST proposals, email to Ward Councillors,12th February.

6) St Enoch Square (East), Howard Street, Stockwell Place, Stockwell street regeneration.

7) High/ George, King Street CP, Custom House Quay, and Old Wynd (East) Osborne, Planning Application status.

9) Stanchions Removals, update.

10) GCC/ Deep Clean Team intervention, proposals.

11) Second Tier ‘in- ground’ Tree, proposals.

Ross and Scott have a meeting with the new director of St Enochs Shopping Centre in a few weeks.

Scott noted there has been recent application to demolish the defunct Annie Millars Pub. Comments and objections are to be submitted by 28 days from the 25th of March. On the same site the applicant plans to build small studio apartment buildings. A similar application was objected to by MCTCC several years ago.

10. Licensing

Gary sent his apologies. Scott discussed briefly the following issues:-

TRNSMT – They have lodged an application to show the Scotland vs Morrocco World Cup football game on the 19^th of June. This will be discussed at the Licensing Board on the 20th of May. MCTCC and Calton CC have objected to this.

Social Hub – Gary Atkinson and Rachel Angus had a meeting with Ben McLeod, of the Social Hub in Candleriggs, regarding to the extension of outdoor seating and sale of alcohol till 1am indoors and outdoors till 10pm.

They were assured the area would not be used for large-scale events and that noise would be kept to a minimum, not least as Social Hub themselves have guests staying on site. The Social Hub have an intention to plant more trees in the nearby area.

JR expressed concerns if an outside amplifier were installed, then other businesses will apply for this also. There was an event last year which caused disturbance and recommended that 9pm ought to the be limit for outdoor music.

11. External Groups

There was no report this month.

12. Friends of Ramshorn Graveyard

There was no report this month.

13. Treasurer’s Report

Gordon Millar (Treasurer) reported that the bank balance as of 31^st March 2026 was  £9,140.59.

£500 due from Counsels re Filming donation (money received 3 April)

£500 due to be paid to the Social Hub for the Mural contribution

Expenses in March 2026 = £369.47 These were mainly website subscriptions, postage and business cards,

14. Any Other Competent Business

Alice Cowan sent Scott details of some of the community groups in the MCTCC area.

15. Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 28^th April 2026 – 6.30-8.30pm in City Chambers.