Meeting Minutes, 25 October 2022

20/11/2022Meetings,Minutes

Attended by

Tam Coyle (Chair), David Cowan, Peter Hayman, Robin Jones, Niall McColl (Secretary), Eileen Mills, Ros Wardley-Smith, MD, CMcK, TMcK, JH, AL, GF, PC Sean McFadden, PC Rob Wilson 

Ward Councillors: Philip Braat, Baillie Christy Mearns, Angus Millar

Attended by video: Gary Atkinson

Apologies: Councillor Eva Bolander

Police report

PC Wilson reiterated that local police were not collating crime statistics since they did not believe this was a good use of police resources.

Tam disagreed, saying that if no measurements were taken and comparisons made it was impossible to judge if progress was being made and where the main problems lay.

JH complained about parking on pavements in Candleriggs.  Why were police not enforcing the law with £50 fines? This had been going on with impunity for far too long. He had seen police walking past offenders without taking action.  PC Wilson replied that a number of fixed penalty notices had been issued. If there is a transgression police need to know on the day. He may have to raise this with GCC as there is a traffic management issue. 

Robin Jones said the Spaces for People initiative which involved tables and chairs on the pavement left too little room for pedestrians, especially wheelchair users.

PC Wilson said cafes and restaurants were given licences for specific sizes of outdoor spaces. Police would check these limits were being observed.

JH said there should be no goods loading/unloading on Candleriggs. Action on illegal parking should be taken now.

A resident said two premises in Virginia Street had two adjoining bars with different licensing hours. Customers were leaving one premise in the early hours of the morning in contravention of its licence. He had received no response to his emailed complaints to the licensing board. Tam will take this up as a matter of urgency.

Scott noted that an owner at Carrick Quay reported recently finding drug users squatting on the premises and had been moved on by police. PC Wilson said this was likely to become a bigger problem with the colder weather but the East Campbell Street homeless shelter would be open again in November through to March. 

CMcK said the noise from buskers was continuing to be especially loud at the entrance to Debenhams, often from the same group of people. Tam said there should be an enforceable decibel level. PC Wilson reiterated that if repeated police warnings about excessive noise were not heeded, sound equipment could be confiscated. 

GF complained about noise and brawls long into the night outside WHERE?. Repeated calls to GCC’s Noise Control, an under-resourced unit, had been fruitless which meant police (who relied on the unit’s reports) could not intervene. Christy said there was a similar situation at Connolly’s but progress had been blocked because of the need for acoustic monitoring in complainants’ homes. Tam said the matter was getting worse and he will take up the issues with GCC licensing and the police. 

Gary said seating outside Connolly’s, which caused outside noise from customers, had not yet been removed.

Approval of September meeting minutes:

Eileen queried item 6.3.3. Niall read out what had been said. “Is it correct that Cemetery friends can take an interest in restoring or any action at all regarding gravestones? Is that not the responsibility of the owner of the gravestones or the descendants of the owners of the gravestones and grants and such like?”

He quoted Eva as saying Friends groups could do so under terms laid down by Historic Environment Scotland.

Approval of minutes proposed by David Cowan and seconded by Ros Wardley-Smith. Carried. 

Ward Councillors’ reports:

Angus:

City centre transport (transformation) plan is being presented to GCC committee next month. 

George Square updated concept designs out in next month or so.

He met yesterday with representatives of the Friends of the Ramshorn. Tam said a constitution could be based on that of the Friends of the Garnethill Cemetery. First meeting 22 November.

Angus will make sure MCTCC gets adequate notice of future walkabouts.

Re Archaos nightclub in Queen Street (across road from MCTCC area): Tam, Peter and Scott met developers who have lodged a pre-planning application  for student accommodation. Tam said there was no mention of demolition of the building at that meeting. Community Council response is being led by Broomielaw CC

Christy:

Has asked police to review Candleriggs premises which might be in breach of their licences for occupation of outside spaces. 

Despite 143 objections the application to build 109 flats on the Ingram Street site would be recommended for approval at next week’s Planning Applications Committee. Another material consideration could be possible archaeological relics under the site. 

She is looking at possibilities for more Zebra crossings for some side streets in Merchant City under the proposed new 20 mph zone.

Remove all traffic  from some streets under the City Centre Transport (Transformation) Plan?

Philip:

Have we reached saturation point for student accommodation in certain locales?

The backlog of bin collection following the refuse workers’ strike is being cleared. 

Peter said GCC had told him there are enough bins near his flat but this was not true: there were too many bins with contents destined for landfill and too few heading for recycling.

Scottish Water work will cause disruption in High Street from 6 January and is likely to impact traffic through Merchant City (This will be publicised on the MCTCC Website). 

There have been complaints of noise from the funfair in St Enoch Square.

Questions to ward councillors

MD raised issues concerning planning enforcement of the A listed Jacobean Corsetry building in Virginia Street.

JH said the Sorriso cafe in Candleriggs was refused a licence in April 2022 yet continued to operate.

He also said 83b Candleriggs Court is operating as an aparthotel but of 36 flats 15 are operating as serviced apartments. Why is GCC not taking action? 

JH added that six cast iron Victorian bollards had been removed from outside the City Halls some 10 years ago at great expense. Why could they not be returned? 

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Meeting Minutes – 27 September 2022

17/10/2022Meetings,Minutes

1.       Welcome

Gary Atkinson welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2.       Attendance and Apologies

2.1.  Community Councillors

Gary Atkinson; Ros Wardley Smith; Niall McColl; Scott Thornton; Peter Hayman; Eileen Mills

2.2.  Residents

AL, SC, HL, TM

2.3.  Elected Members

Cllr Eva Bolander; Depute Lord Provost Christy Mearns

2.4.  Ex-officio

PC Rob Wilson, Police Scotland

2.5.  Apologies

Tam Coyle; Carla Arrighi; David Cowan

3.       Police Report

No specific report; Rob made the following points

3.1.  Contacting the Police

• Public will never be criticised for contacting the police about something that concerns/alarms them
• Call centre risk assesses every call, which dictates the response

3.2.    Citywide campaign for low level drug use

• This has been successful

3.3.  Questions

3.3.1.   What’s the current status on break-ins, etc? (PH)

• No figures available
• Main issues locally are on-street drug dealing, antisocial behaviour

3.3.2.   High levels of noise on Ingram St on Monday night (PH)

• A few instances of antisocial behaviour but nothing major

3.3.3.   What are the main drugs trafficked? (ST)

• Cocaine; Heroin; Cannabis
• Legal highs are not street drugs, but are not an issue in Glasgow

3.3.4.   What are the Police Powers on Noisy street musicians (ST)

• No prescribed decibel level
• If Police get a complaint, they will attend
• If, in their judgement noise exceeds what a reasonable person would expect, they’d ask them to turn it down
• They can be issued with a warning and, if they persist, their equipment can be seized.
• Eva added the following:
  • Was a focus before covid
  • There is a plan for addressing this

  • There is a buskers code of conduct, which the community team should be enforcing    

3.3.5.   What can be done about Antisocial behaviour from pubs and pubgoers (SC)

• Phone it in to the Police on 101
• They will review
• If it falls outside the pub’s licence conditions, will pass it on to partner agencies
• Provides the evidence that GCC etc need to be able to take action against their licence
• Local noise team are short staffed
• Connolly’s and Murphy's are still a particular issue

3.3.6.   Any issues in the Ramshorn (GA)

• No reports of antisocial behaviour, drinking
• It is included in the patrol matrix

4.       Minutes of August Meeting and Matters Arising

4.1.  Approval

No changes were requested

Proposed by Scott Thornton; 

Seconded by Niall McColl

Minutes adopted

4.2.  Matters Arising

4.2.1.   Filming

• Policy is for Scott to ask donations from any company wishing to film in the area
• Total of £8,600 so far, which is an impressive total, and many thanks are extended to Scott for his work on this
• Discussion re use of money postponed to next mid-monthly

4.2.2.   Saltmarket Bridge Repairs

4.2.3.   Businesses occupying excessive space on streets

• Covered under Eva’s report

4.2.4.   Visit to Recycling Centre

• 3 community councillors attended
• Very worthwhile visit
• Lots of background on what GCC is doing to combat the mess problem
• Many thanks to Scott for organising the trip

5.         Treasurer’s Report

• No official report as Carla sent apologies
• Minor expenses of £130 for web related stuff

6.       Elected Members Reports

6.1.  Councillor Eva Bolander

6.1.1.   Walkabout with Angus

No community council representatives were able to attend, though Eva wasn’t aware if we’d been advised (update – no emails were sent to the MCTCC account advising us this was taking place)

6.1.2.   Virginia Place refuse problems

• meeting with planning and cleansing to try and resolve. 
• Plan to have bin sheds at side of building requires the dead end to be “stopped up”

6.1.3.   Graces Bar

• Graces bar complaints have been reported to Licensing and to Planning. 
• In the future, all licenced premises will have to apply for space on pavements, and will have to show a plan. 
• Eva will arrange a briefing on what the new rules are

6.1.4.   Candleriggs Development

• Central square to be called Candleriggs Square

6.1.5.   Avenues Project

• Some parts need to be re-scoped, and some elements of the projects may be scaled back due to current inflationary pressures. 
• High St is now included in the overall project. 
• Learnings from Sauchiehall project are being taken into account. 
• Timelines have slipped due to COVID, plus external pressure. 
• Report available from the GCC website (https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/submissiondocuments.asp?submissionid=105987)

6.1.6.   Green Grants

• Green grants for businesses will go live fairly soon. These are grants to help achieve city’s net zero ambitions

6.1.7.   Ramshorn

• EM asked if Eva knew anything about the Marie Trust, which she did, and was able to give more details about it.
• Initial meeting of group was cancelled for various reasons. Eva proposed that a donation to Ramshorn would be beneficial to the community, and also suggested other uses for the money we have received, such as The Marie Trust, Simon Community, Glasgow Helps – a new organisation setup to help people facing cost of living crisis.

6.2.  Depute Lord Provost Christy Mearns

6.2.1.   Festival Village

• They now have temporary planning permission for 2 years, so can apply for a full premises licence. Deadline to object to that is 13 October

6.2.2.   Electric shuttlebus

• Part of proposal to reduce volume of traffic, and would be a complementary service

6.2.3.   Spaces for People

• New approach to spaces for people will remove the temporary footways
• Requirement for 2 meter clearance on the existing pavements
• COVID permissions lapse at the end of the month
• Businesses using more of the pavement will now have to submit applications to use more space.
• Applications will be for 2 years

6.2.4.   Connolly’s

• Still ongoing
• Due to the review hearing that’s been proposed, there was an agreement to allow Connolly’s time to make improvements to their operation
• Part of the agreement was for acoustic monitoring equipment to be used to measure noise, but she believes that this is no longer the case

6.2.5.   City Centre Transformation Plan

• General direction is good
• Did suggest that alongside removing through traffic, should provide more pedestrianisation, as current plans would still allow traffic on many streets

6.2.6.   Infrastructure Fund

• Hoping for improvements in the merchant city
• CC could put forward ideas

6.2.7.   SPT Strategy

• Closes on 31 October

6.2.8.   Food Growing Fund

• Applications open for next 6 weeks
• Communities and local groups to increase food growing opportunities
• https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=29671

6.2.9.   Recycling

• Agrees that its a very confusing landscape
• A lot of the blame lies with manufacturers using inappropriate plastics
• We have to reduce the waste we’re producing

6.3.    Questions for Councillors

6.3.1.   What can the council do about the banks with boarded up windows (NM)

• Barclays and HSBC (outside our boundary) on Argyle St
• Eva will follow up

6.3.2.   Refuse collection issues (TM)

• The Polmadie plant can separate some waste into recyclable material
• Knowing what can and cannot be recycled is almost impossible (ST). More information on what can and cannot be recycled available from: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17043

6.3.3.   Can “Cemetery Friends” groups take an interest in or any other action about restoring gravestones, referring to Deeds of Grant, Susan O’Connor etc 

• Yes, in line with Historic Environment Scotland guidelines
• Susan O’Connor (Civic Trust) can clarify what they can and cannot do 

6.3.4.   Is the Saltmarket/High St shop front improvement programme still going (TM)

• Some of the units are looking in poor condition
• Meanwhile Use programme phase 1 is complete, phase 2 is under way
• Eva will confirm what’s available now

6.3.5.   Seats installed outside Connolly’s have worsened problems for residents, as pub-goers sit on them until the wee hours (SC)

• Installed as part of Spaces for People
• Eva will speak to the officers about getting them moved

6.3.6.   Where would the electric bus run? (ST)

• Christy - No detail as yet

7.       Planning

7.1.  This month’s planning applications

The detailed application can be reviewed by clicking on the application details

Reference	Details
22/02026/FUL	Installation of additional telecommunications equipment and associated ancillary works. - Glasshouse Car Park 44 Glassford Street Glasgow
22/01764/ADV	Display of internally illuminated box sign and 2no. double sided projecting signs, includes various non-illuminated vinyl manifestations to glazed doors - Unit 9 201 Argyle Street Glasgow G2 8BU
22/02083/LBA	Internal and external works including roof extension to listed building. - 101 Trongate Glasgow
22/02332/LBA	Internal and external alterations - 101 Trongate Glasgow
22/02096/LBA	Display of illuminated signage. - 62 Virginia Street Glasgow G1 1TX
22/02284/ADV	Display of illuminated signage. - 62 Virginia Street Glasgow G1 1TX
22/02372/FUL	Use of shop (Class 1) as bureau de change (Class 2) - Unit 100 St Enoch Shopping Centre 55 St Enoch Square Glasgow G1 4BW

7.2.  Other notes

• Corrigans on Howard St is now empty as they have moved to Keppochill Road.
• Proposal of Application Notice for Archaos on Queen St
  • Community Councillors will meet with developers in October

  • Public events in November/December

8.         Licencing

8.1.  Recent Applications

• Festival Village. Closing date 13 October. More info https://mctcc.scot/2022/09/29/licensing-application-festival-village/

9.       Social Media

• Now just under 700 followers on Facebook

10. Any Other Business

10.1.  Marie Trust

• EM recently became aware of the Marie Trust and met with Frances McKinley, the Chief Officer.
• Work as a day centre for homeless people, based on Albion St, having recently moved from Midland St
• Frances is is keen to speak to us. Would November be possible? To be discussed at October mid-monthly
• Also keen to be involved with Greyfriars Garden – offering to recycle they food waste into compost. EM has provided contact details for this.

10.2.  Merchant City Community Notice Boards

• Should we be thinking of updating them to reflect that we’re now MC&T CC

10.3.  Great Scottish Run, 1 and 2 October

• Many roads closed around the Merchant City, but no notifications received by residents
• Eva will follow up

11.   Date of Next Meeting

• Tuesday 25 October 2022 at 7pm in the City Chambers and online
• Our AGM will be held at the start of the meeting. All office bearers step down and may be re-elected, or any other Community Councillor can stand for an office bearer position,

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