Your Community Council, at the Heart of Glasgow

DRAFT MCTCC Full Meeting Minutes, 24th February 2026

Attendance

Community Councillors	Scott Thornton; Gordon Millar; Niall McColl; David Cowan; Alice Cowan; Gary Atkinson; Ros Atkinson; David Hughes; Peter Hayman
Residents	PP; JT; RE, TT (via Zoom)
Elected Representatives	Cllr Philip Braat
Police Scotland	PC Chris Convery
CWG 2026	Andy Robin, Scott MacLean and Gary Grieve
Other	GF, Gregor McIntyre from MP John Grady’s office

 

1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

Scott Thornton welcomed everyone.

Apologies: Cllr Millar, Cllr Bolander, Baillie Christy Mearns and Rachel Angus.

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING ON 28^th JANUARY

Adoption proposed by Gordon Millar and seconded by Alice Cowan.

The Secretary will notify Glasgow City Council.

3. POLICE REPORT

PC Convery reported from the 28^th of January to the 24^th February there were 84 crimes of which 33 were detected and 51 undetected. These figures may change as investigations continue. There could be multiple crimes within one crime report. Priority areas for policing were identified, including Virginia Street, Glassford Street, New Wynd, Old Wynd, Trongate, and local car parks.

Police Questions

Scott asked about the new CCTV camera on Clyde Street. PC Convery confirmed it had been fitted and is working. He hopes to provide a map of where GCC CCTV cameras are in our area.

A resident reported a large number of young people, around 50, on George St recently. PC Convery would make enquiries and feed back.

4. COMMONWEALTH GAMES GLASGOW 2026 – PRESENTATION

Andy Robin (Lead Community Engagement Manager), Scott Maclean (Business Readiness Manager) and Gary Grieve (Assistant Community Engagement Manager) gave a presentation. The games take place from Thursday 23^rd of July to Sunday 2^nd of August.  Due to hosting the games previously existing sports venues can be used and there will not be an athletes’ village. They have £150m of private funding and no public funding is involved.

Scott McLean gave details of the business readiness campaign, ‘All In’, for businesses to engage. Gary Grieve discussed community engagement efforts including their collaboration with schools, councils, and sports organisations.

The ‘Games Corridor’ covers 7 CC areas: Scotstoun, Yorkhill, Anderston, Merchant City and Trongate, Govan, Calton and Shettleston. The four venues are Scotstoun Leisure Centre, Tollcross Pool, The Emirates Arena and the SEC. The Corinthian on Ingram St will be the official Team Scotland House. It will serve as central hub for athletes and families.

As part of community engagement there are sport ambassador programmes, and free ‘come and try’ events taking place in communities. They are planning 22 events starting in June to mid-August.  Merchant City Festival (MCF) will be integrated under the Games Festival, organised by Glasgow Life. Tickets are sold by Ticketmaster:

https://www.glasgow2026.com/get-involved/tickets

The team expressed openness to ongoing dialogue with businesses and the community to ensure a successful event.

Member Questions

Gary asked about disruption within the city as there are many roadworks underway during the games, would this further disrupt traffic and public transport?  Cllr Braat asked about accessibility for public utility vehicles such cleansing, refuse removal and deliveries for businesses.

GCC’s City Activation Team and Logistics Team are working these matters out and we will know more details in April. A travel survey is being carried out in March to identify congestion points. The events will be mainly indoor and transport plans for spectators to navigate to venues from the closest train, bus and cycle routes. Unfortunately, the events will not be ‘free-to-air’ to view on television, however they are exploring this option for community groups.

Ros noted that the back of tickets could be used for advertising or local business promotions. Scott MacLean agreed.

JT asked about the volunteer programme. There were over 15k applications and successful applicants will be informed soon and invited for ‘onboarding’ next month. Those who were not selected they have a wider communication program to link them with associated bodies such as Sport Scotland.

5. ELECTED MEMBER REPORTS

Cllr Philip Braat reported the Licensing Board has approved an extension for the sale of alcohol in public houses, and the like, when showing games in the FIFA World Cup 2026. This will extend for the duration of the tournament, starting on June 11^th, for all games.  Venues have to apply for an extension and will only be granted if they normally show sports on TV. They will be able to sell alcohol up to 30 minutes after the game has ended.

GCC are in the process of agreeing a new contract for a public toilet cubicle provider. Until this is agreed, the existing Healthmatic contract will be extended. Scott noted that MCTCC replied to a consultation on public toilets back in February 2024 but we have not received any response.

The Stockwell St Avenue project has been awarded to the Hillhouse Group and work will start on the 23^rd of March.  Scott noted the community engagement was due to start on the 23rd of February.

Maxwell St building site – the Environmental Team have came back to say that the site does not meet the criteria for enforcement under the Environmental Health Protection Act 1990.  Cllr Braat has asked for clarification on this. Scott believes it is 18 months since this was first brought to GCC’s attention. They have issued a notice to clean up the site within one month, which expires tomorrow, 25^th February 2026.

Cllr Braat attended meetings with the Police regarding the new Dispersal Zones in the city centre.  This is to tackle open drug use and other illegal activities. If a person is given a Dispersion Notice they will not be able to enter the zone for 24 hours. It will come into effect on the 20^th of March and will cover Central Rail Station, Union St and St Enoch Square.  Also included is the area bounded by St Vincent Place, Glassford Street/Stockwell Street, to the far side of the riverbank, and York Street/West Campbell Street.

He has had reports of illegal car parking in the Miller St area.

Questions for Cllr Braat

A resident noted drug abuse near to the River Clyde.

Gary noted that GCC bills property owners when debris falls from their property promptly and at some expense. This is in contrast to the aforementioned Maxwell St site.

Scott read out updates from Cllr Angus Millar: He is looking into an awareness campaign on bird feeding. He has asked for comparative statistics for the amount of needles deposited in other parts of the city and those in the safe needle bin in New Wynd.

Scott said that disappointingly First Bus had not responded to emails asking for a bus service between the MCTCC area and the Royal Infirmary.

Niall noted that on Ingram St, near to Miller St, the road has been marked as a Bus Gate, however there is no signage. This has caused confusion for drivers, who then do U-turns.

6. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Scott read out the Community Engagement report written by Niall:

A draft community engagement strategy has been written, discussed and adopted. This will underpin our community engagement activities for 2026 and beyond. It summarises how MCTCC will deepen the engagement with the community it serves.

A sub-group of community councillors will now work to create a community engagement action plan to deliver effective and participatory events in the area. Given the importance of this topic, it will now be a standing item at each public meeting.

The MCTCC website is regularly updated and is being enhanced to give more information to the community. For example, planning and licensing applications are now updated weekly, with details to allow members of the community to comment on them.  Further improvements will allow us to share details of upcoming events in the area.

Part of the engagement strategy will ensure that we use our website, social media, noticeboards and any printed materials consistently, and this is something that will become more visible over the next few months.

7. LOCAL PLACE PLAN

David Hughes reported that MCTCC’s LPP is now complete. He thanked Niall for his work on this and will send this back to GCC for review and validation. It will then be submitted to neighbouring CCs for comments. After this it will be due for formal adoption. Scott asked about the 18^th December deadline for the new City Development Plan. David Hughes said key points of the LPP will be incorporated in this.

8. PLANNING

Ross Naismith gave his report on the following:-

1. A) Avenues, Generally In MCTCC Area, email to Ward Councillors, 15th January.

After the public meeting in December, he emailed Cllr Millar and Ward Councillors on the 15th of January with his concerns and recommendations for all solutions. RN stated that he believes that he has engaged on discussions with GCC/ Avenues Team as far as he is able and that resolutions to design concerns need to return to the Ward Councillor’s responsibility.

RN has requested that a second opinion be sought from the Glasgow Institute of Architects about the designs. There are 6 Avenue projects in our area, he has not seen any plans for George St or Cochrane St as yet.

1. B) Planning timeframes and processes etc, meeting with GCC/ Planning, 6th February.

He had a positive meeting with the Head of GCC Planning Dept. He expressed his concerns how planning applications process through the system and feels the timeframe for the process is too long in Glasgow. He would like to see more transparency in the process. Glasgow Institute of Architects has a design ‘panel’ that can be referred to when cases arise, for second opinion situations.

1. C) Area Partnership meeting 12^th February – second tier ‘in- ground’ tree planting,

RN understands there are 15 new trees agreed and 3 replacement trees agreed in principle. The three replacement trees are located at the corner of Ingram and High Streets – one on the north side outside Sapporo, an two outside the Merchant Chippie.

He has been working with Rachel to identify possible new locations for planting.

1. D) Parnie/ King/ Osborne Area Regeneration, meeting with GCC/ City Centre Strategy and GCC City Property, 19th February.

He and Rachel Angus had a meeting with a representative from the City Centre Strategy Dept. and a director from City Property, plus Cllr Angus Millar to discuss the above topic. They were open to ideas and RA and RN would follow-up in due course with proposals for regeneration for funding by GCC.

1. E) King St car park and Custom House Quay, Planning Application update.

He is optimistic that planning applications will be made on these in the near future.

1. F) Candleriggs upgrade, GCC/ Sustainable Transport postponement, email to Ward Councillors, 12th February.

He has asked Cllr Millar if he could setup a meeting with Sustainable Transport to discuss concerns on postponement of design proposals.

1. G) Ingram St And Queen St Alterations, GCC/ Sustainable Transport proposals, email to Ward Councillors,12th February.

The proposals for Queen St / Ingram St are not subject to planning regulations, but come under an Emergency Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). RN has objected to the proposals on MCTCC’s behalf on a number of points.

1. H) St Enoch Square (east), Howard St, Stockwell Pl, Stockwell St regeneration/ listing as ‘area of interest’.

He would like to see this area listed as ‘An Area of Special Interest’. Meetings with stakeholders are planned.

9. LICENSING

Gary had no report this month.

He has not sure he can see all applications. He is also not able to lodge objections in Licensing Portal.

Scott said an Irish community celebration parade on 14th March had been publicised in the press but MCTCC had not been notified. He is taking this up with GCC.

10. EXTERNAL GROUPS

David Hughes and Rachel Angus attended the Area Partnership (AP) meeting. They discussed graffiti and their concerns about the lack of plans for an alternative to Trongate for football fans’ end of season celebrations.

NRS have said that of the 18 bench locations identified by MCTCC only 6 are suitable. This has been questioned by MCTCC. It has been agreed that a walkabout comprising the AP and NRS to determine the suitability of bench sites is the way forward.

NRS have allocated a further £14K to MCTCC from the £100,000 set aside for trees in Ward 10. NRS had stated that an exploratory tree dig costs £500.00. DH stated that Rachel had sent an email recommending that the NIF budget be allocated to 15 Trees and 14 benches. There was no decision on this.

It should be noted that any unspent funds must be allocated to MCTCC projects by March 2027 or risks being lost.

11. FRIENDS OF RAMSHORN GRAVEYARD

David Hughes reported he has new tour guides including Neil Baxter (Historian), Paul Noble (Doors Open Day) and Alice Lister (Strathclyde University).

12.  TREASURERS REPORT

Gordon Millar (Treasurer) reported our bank balance as of today is £9,510.06.

We received the GCC CC Administration Grant of £616.84.

We are due to receive a contribution of £500 from a film company.

13. AOCB

Rachel Angus is organising the MCTCC Litter Pick on the 7^th March from 10.30 am, meeting at the front of the Ramshorn Church on Ingram St. Black bags and litter pickers will be provided.  David Hughes will attend.

The next meeting will include a presentation about the Business Improvement District and in April from Manish Joshi of the Social Innovation Cluster at Strathclyde University.

14. DATE OF NEXT MEETING:

Tuesday 31^st March 2026 – 6.30-8.30pm in City Chambers.

DRAFT MCTCC Full Meeting Minutes, 27^th January 2026

Attendance

Community Councillors	Scott Thornton; Gordon Millar; Niall McColl; David Cowan; Alice Cowan; Gary Atkinson; Ros Atkinson; Rachel Angus; David Hughes; Peter Hayman
Residents	JH; TM; RE; EM; PP; EM (via Zoom)
Elected Representatives	Cllr Angus Millar; Bailie Christy Mearns
Police Scotland	PC Chris Convery
Glasgow City Council	Ewan Curtis; Rachel Smith; Lisa Scott
Other	Nicole Mitchell; Gary Fanning (via Zoom)

1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

Scott Thornton welcomed everyone.

Apologies: Cllr Braat and Ross Naismith.

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING ON 25^th NOVEMBER

Adoption proposed by Rachel Angus and seconded by Ros Atkinson.

The Secretary will send the approved minutes to Glasgow City Council.

3. POLICE REPORT

PC Convery reported from the 1st of January to the 27th there were 81 crimes of which 34 were detected and 47 undetected. These figures may change as investigations continue. There could be multiple crimes within one crime report.  Priority areas for policing include Virginia Street, Glassford Street, New Wind, Old Wind, Trongate, and car parts areas.

Police Questions

David Cowan asked if anything could be done to reduce graffiti in Trongate and surrounding areas. PC Convery will ask the CCTV operators to monitor for this during the night and in the morning, when this crime is often committed. However, it is a hard crime to prevent, and there have been instances where people have travelled to Glasgow and claim they believed it is legal to spray paint here.

Scott reported that John Grady MP had received a letter from the UK Dept. of Transport after he quoted MCTCC concerns about enforcement of electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) being ridden at speeds of more than the maximum permitted 15.5 mph. The UK Government has no plans to introduce a registration scheme as costs and complexities would outweigh the benefits. The Minister encouraged MCTCC residents to continue to report any incidents to police and the Community Council.

PC Convery confirmed the speed limit for e-bikes is up to 15.5 miles per hour. The Council’s e-bike scheme is compliant. Some delivery drivers have been found with modified bikes allowing them to achieve higher speeds. Enforcement action has been taken against illegal use. The Police would like to see By-Laws introduced to help with enforcement.  Scott thanked Police Scotland for their work in removing illegal e-bikes

Scott asked about speed limits for cars. The police are looking to implement of a 20mph speed limit for cars in residential areas. The council is going to roll-out this scheme across the city and be extended to all of Scotland eventually. Cllr Millar said the evidence shows a 30% reduction in road collisions, and 30% reductions in fatalities where there has been a collision in areas where this has been implemented. The 20mph limit will be implemented across Scotland in residential areas.

4. SOUTH PORTLAND St BRIDGE – PLACE FUNDING PRESENTATION

Ewan Curtis, Rachel Smith and Lisa Scott from GCC gave a presentation explaining the priorities to upgrade the South Portland Suspension Bridge.  The bridge is a Designated A Listed heritage structure, more information is available from:

https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB32668

This project is being carried out in advance of several other adjacent works such as Custom House Quay. The Place Fund have allocated £480,000 for environmental improvements to the bridge, partial structural restoration, lighting and improvements to the riverbank at Carlton Place. Lisa Scott said £180,000 would be used for tree management and railing repairs, while the remaining funds would address some of the bridge’s structural needs.

The project plan and budget must be committed before 31st March, and will prioritise quick interventions. Recent tree inspections revealed some older trees approaching the end of their lifespan, prompting plans for a managed approach to removals and new planting.

Member Questions

Scott asked about CCTV and was told that a camera had been installed on the bridge. He would like to see measures being taken to ensure the bridge is not defaced by graffiti.

Gordon Millar asked if the mature trees in Carlton Place could be retained. It was explained these trees block views and need to be removed as they are end of life. It will improve safety in the area and more suitable type trees for this environment will be planted.

David Cowan asked if the bridge surface would be upgraded. Lisa Scott explained a survey of the timbers under the bridge found they do not require to be replaced. However, a new covering will be laid to improve the path surface.

David Hughes asked if they would consider assistance from the community to help clear the vegetation from the riverbank. The team responded that, as safety is their primary concern, they will employ a suitable contractor to do this work.

EM asked what work would take place on the Clyde Street side of the bridge. Ewan Curtis advised there will be some restoration work to the towers. The river walls will be upgraded as part of associated projects. Scott noted that many funds are being allocated to other projects in our area.  Cllr Millar noted that this will project will enhance the Custom House Quay project and Avenues projects nearby.

Baillie Christie Mearns raised concerns about the proposed red lighting on the bridge, noting the existing amount of coloured lighting along the Clyde. She asked whether the lighting scheme could be shared in advance for comment. It was noted that any lighting design should be sympathetic to the bridge’s structure. Rachel Angus agreed, commenting that additional red lighting could feel excessive given the current multi-coloured lighting along the Clyde, and suggested that a more natural lighting approach would be better suited to highlighting the bridge’s architectural features.

Scott thanked the team attending and understands that Rachel Smith is addressing the Area Partnership on trees in the city centre which of interest to this community.

5. ELECTED MEMBER REPORTS

Cllr Angus Millar reported that he and Cllr Eva Bolander met to discuss anti-social behaviour and other matters in December. They will attend a follow-up meeting this week.

There was an article in the press about the illegal car park on Fox Street. GCC are trying to identify who the owners of the land are. GCC have issued an Amenity Notice and have started the issuance of a Planning Enforcement Order.

He has arranged a meeting between community councillors and GCC officials on 19th February regarding the Parnie St area.

He has been in correspondence about the difficulties about Do Not Feed the Birds type signage, GCC cannot put up signs on buildings it does not own. He is in discussion with NRS about what options may be available. It is hoped a wider awareness campaign will be developed. Rachel noted there is a researcher from Glasgow University interested in working with GCC on formulating an education campaign for this purpose.

There was a public consultation event in January for the People First Zone on Queen St and Ingram Street.  The Candleriggs development will be funded in the budget for the 2026-27 financial year, but it is unlikely that full pedestrianisation will be implemented.

After a long wait, statistics have been provided regarding use of the Safe Needle Bin in New Wynd: there were 1450 ‘sharps’ deposited there from June and December 2025. There were 227 sharps deposited safely in other parts of the city.  This helps to make the city centre a safer place. He will follow up to get comparative analysis for previous periods.

Baillie Christy Mearns met with a business group from Virginia St to discuss how to make the area greener and more pleasant. Issues included cars idling with engines running. Parklets were considered – for example, carpark spaces can made into seating areas next to pavements.

Santa Lucia restaurant responded positively to her regarding reducing the noise in the early morning that was disturbing residents. They have since changed their waste refuse contractor. However, there has been no response from other nearby restaurants yet.

She continues to support improved recycling facilities and has worked with Scott to identify locations for new bin hubs in the street and accessible resident back courts.

Common Ground is a Barnardos project that has a hub centrally located in on Argyle St near to Glasgow Central station, where they focus on helping young people at risk or in distress and provides a number of services such as ensuring they can return home safely.

She has reported potholes to the roads department. At Stockwell St, junction Osborne St a group of deep potholes were repaired on 11th January.  However, this is a temporary repair until the Stockwell St Avenue project starts there on the 15^th February.

Councillor Questions

Niall noted the traffic St on Ingram St is often gridlocked, especially at weekends, and that most of the vehicles are taxis, not private cars.

The consultation on Queen St and Ingram St was well attended. However, community councillors who attended felt it was lacking in substance and required further consultation prior to works beginning.

Cllr Millar said the E-TRO (Experimental Traffic Regulation Order) is a pilot project to reduce traffic, and hence congestion. The Bus Gate being implemented on the right turn from Ingram to Queen Street will be monitored to avoid unintended impacts and there may be adjustments made if this happens. The bus gate will have ANPR cameras for enforcement.

Ros Atkinson explained that the number of cars waiting at traffic lights make it difficult to exit their building’s car park, and once they do exit, it takes a considerable time to get to out the city in any direction.

EM noted the trees in planters at Ramshorn Graveyard are unsuitable and are surrounded by weeds. Also, the planter at the Ingram St/Albion St is out of proportion and the tree does not look healthy.  David Hughes and Rachel will raise this at the Area Partnership after the presentation on this subject.  Bailie Christy Mearns noted the complexities of planting trees in this area but GCC are trying to adjust for this.

Rachel asked if there was any update on the removal of defunct street posts.  Cllr Millar said there may be signposts which are missing signs due to changes in traffic flows and regulations, however the issue is still being investigated.  She noted there were other items that ought to be removed such as a cement block on Montrose St, disused street electrical boxes and the phone box at Ingram St carpark.

6. LOCAL PLACE PLAN (LPP)

David Hughes reported that the draft MCTCC LPP plan was submitted to GCC in November.  GCC have asked for some amendments, such as larger maps and graphics, and asked that we update the plan to advise how our Policy Statement would impact on the current development plans. Once the updated plan is submitted and verified by GCC, there is a statutory 28-day consultation with neighbouring Community Councils.

7. PLANNING

Scott Thornton read out the planning report prepared by Ross Naismith

• Homeless Project Scotland (HPS) have submitted a planning application for the Glassford St premises
• George Square – Ross noted no lighting designs have been shared as yet. The contractor has informed him these will be made available to him soon.
• Concerned about the length of time taken for planning applications to be decided. This may discourage developers. Cllr Millar referred to an article in the paper today about a planning improvement programme. He will forward on the link to this.
• Stockwell St Avenue project will start mid-February.
• Maxwell St Area – there is room for improvement.

8. LICENSING

• Gary Atkinson reported that we will object to the application for 100 Maxwell Street’s hours to be extended.
• Niall noted that the Polo Lounge – Daytime Disco application may already be covered by their existing license.
• The consultation into exemption of Short Term Lets (STL) licensing during the Commonwealth Games ends next week.

9. AREA PARTNERSHIP & JOINT ACTION GROUP (JAG)

David Hughes reported that members don’t see papers until one week before the meeting, which can be a hindrance.

The Tron Theatre received £25k of NIF funding for refurbishment to its steeple.  The dead trees reported on Ingram St have been chopped down, although the stumps remain and need to be removed as they are a hazard.

Bailie Christy Mearns noted that it can take a substantial amount of time, after NIF funds had been allocated, for projects to be scheduled and for work to begin.

Rachel Angus will take over from David Hughes as our AP representative and will stand down as a JAG representative.

David Cowan attended the Joint Action Group on 22nd January. Police Scotland hope to attend each JAG meeting. JAG would like to see new By Laws for e-bikes.  The next meeting is on the 26^th February.

10.  FRIENDS OF RAMSHORN GRAVEYARD

David Hughes reported there will be a committee meeting on the 14th January.  They will have a presentation about one of the lairs.  He has had a response for new tour guides, including from historian Neil Baxter.

He has sent an email today to NRS to enquire about installing a defibrillator and signage on the gate railings. A dead tree in the graveyard is being considered for sculpting. He attended the launch of the community fusion fund with Niall and David Cowan.

11.  UPDATES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

There were no updates from previous meetings this month.

12.  WEBSITE

There is work ongoing to improve the Planning and Licensing pages. Licensing applications are now updated weekly, with planning notices to follow.

The Tron Theatre has sent details of their future programme and will be available on our site before the end of February.

Social Media

Niall is reviewing which platforms MCTCC communications will use, as part of the community engagement strategy being developed. He has attended Community Engagement events run by Planning Aid Scotland.

The MCTCC notice board on Wilson St has been cleaned up, thanks to all who helped.  The viability of maintaining the Trongate noticeboard is under review. Digitising of notice boards is being considered.

13.  FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

There was no report this month.

14.  TREASURERS REPORT

Gordon Millar (Treasurer) reported our bank balance as of today is £8,893.22.

We received the GCC CC Administration Grant of £500.

We paid out £500 to the Mural Fund as part of an MCTCC grant.

15.  COMMUNITY COUNCIL VACANCY

We have two vacancies at present – anyone who is a resident of the MCTCC area is eligible to apply.

16. AOCB

• David Hughes intends to step down from MCTCC once the LPP has been approved by GCC.
• A new community litter pick day will be announced in the near future.
• There will be presentation about the Commonwealth Games at our February meeting.
• The Scottish Parliament Elections will take place on the 7th of May.

17. DATE OF NEXT MEETING:

Tuesday 24^th February 2026 – 6.30-8.30pm in City Chambers.