Your Community Council, at the Heart of Glasgow

Annual General Meeting, 26 October 2021

26/10/2021Minutes

Attendance and Apologies

Community Councillors

Duncan MacLaren (Chair),Tam Coyle (V/C), David Cowan (Secretary),  Peter Hayman, Gerald Hirst (Treasurer), Eileen Mills, Daniel O’Malley and Scott Thornton.

Residents

Euan Martin, Andrew Lockyer, Gary Atkinson, Carla Arraghi, Olga Gordon, Tommy Davis, Michael Orue and Philippa Porteous.

Elected Representatives 

Lord Provost Philip Braat, Cllr Eva Bolander.

Apologies

Niall McColl, Robin Jones, Bailie Christie-Mearns and Sgt. Philip Showell, Police Scotland.

Minutes of the AGM held on 29th October 2019

The 29^th October 2019 AGM Minutes from 2 years past, as there was no AGM held in 2020 due to the covid pandemic, were presented to the meeting for approval.

Proposed by Gerald Hirst,

Seconded by Tam Coyle.

Approved.

Chairman's Report - Duncan MacLaren

Since March 2020, we have all been confronted with the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. When it became obvious that we could not meet physically as a Community Council in the City Chambers as usual, we moved quickly to meeting online on Zoom and, at time of writing in October 2021, we still do. We are grateful to our IT expert, Niall McColl, for hosting us and for dealing with any problems which have arisen. Unfortunately, for some residents, going online meant that they either did not have the equipment or the skills to be part of our virtual community. As soon as the City Chambers opens to us and it is safe to meet face-to-face, then we hope to welcome those residents who were excluded as well as welcome new residents who have known us so far over the internet.

Community Councillors

The current community councillors are:- Duncan MacLaren (Chair), Tam Coyle (Vice-Chair), Gerald Hirst (Treasurer), David Cowan (Secretary), Niall McColl (Social Media Manager), Peter Hayman, Robin Jones, Eileen Mills, Daniel O’Malley, Scott Thornton. 

One community councillor, Chris Murphy, left and we thank him for his work over the years. Three new ones joined – David Cowan, Daniel O’Malley and Scott Thornton. We are grateful to them for being so active given the restricted circumstances in which we must work.

We thank all the community councillors who give up so much of their time to serve the community in which they live.

Examples of Campaigns

MCTCC tries to serve the people living in the Trongate and Merchant City area by sifting through planning and licensing applications to check if they fit in with our historic part of Glasgow and serve the needs of the local community. We also have a good relationship with the police who give us reports on crime in our area. 

Merchant City Park: One ongoing campaign is to “create a Park in the Merchant City district of Glasgow by converting what is currently a Car Park with twenty mature trees and a world-famous mural into a green space for the benefit of the Community and visitors alike”. It is being taken forward by the steering group of the Merchant City Park which is now a registered charity. The site has been sold but the Campaign continues. See website: https://merchantcitypark.org/. 

Jocelyn Square: This is an attempt to make a vacant lot in one of the most historic parts of Glasgow near the river into student accommodation rather than make it a health centre or a primary school or a green space for the local and wider community. It will have a roof terrace and will overlook the bedrooms and living rooms of the residents of St Margaret Place. MCTCC objected to the plan as did the police (it is close to the High Court), residents and many others. Its future is uncertain at time of writing.

Ramshorn Graveyard: The Community Council will try to establish a Friends of the Ramshorn Group with assistance from local residents. For most of the period of the pandemic, the graveyard which contains many trees, seats and recycling bins was locked up. It has been opened for COP26 and we are working to ensure it will remain open as one of the few green spaces in the City Centre and we aim to encourage development of the site as a tourist venue and as part of the heritage trail. Anyone who is interested in taking this project forward, can get in touch with us via [email protected]. 

Media and Publicity

Our thanks go once again to community councillor, Niall McColl, who has set up a new website (mctcc.scot), an email address for residents ([email protected]) as well as made us visible on Twitter and Facebook (mctcc_scot and mctcc.scot respectively). Niall also designed the striking posters which now advertise our meetings and give information about us to the public. They can be viewed on our notice boards on the corner of Wilson and Brunswick Streets in the Merchant City and in Trongate near the Tron Theatre.

We have also increased our media voice in the Glasgow Times, The Herald and other sites, highlighting our campaign against drugs, the Merchant City Park and the opening of the Ramshorn Graveyard, to name but a few issues.

We would like to thank…….

Our elected councillors (Lord Provost Philip Braat, Depute Lord Provost Christy Mearns, Cllr Eva Bolander and Cllr Angus Millar), our past MSP, Sandra White, and the current one, Kaukab Stewart MSP, our MP, Alison Thewliss, the police especially our community police and Sgt Philip Showell, and the staff of Glasgow City Council such as Steven Dowling, Denise Hamilton and Ian Elder for their willingness to assist us in our work to make the voice of the people in our patch heard. 

Financial Report

Treasurer, Gerald Hirst reported. He distributed the Income and Expenditure Account for the period 1^stSeptember to 31^st August 2021.  He explained the need to switch to online meetings incurred substantial expense in order for MCTCC to continue monthly meetings.  As such, the additional £250 to meet these costs, including the annual allowance of £429, was gratefully received.   A provision of £270 has been included to pay for someone to transcribe the minutes in the following financial year.

Proposed by Daniel O’Malley

Seconded by David Cowan.

Approved.

The interim MCTCC annual accounts will now be passed over to an independent auditor.

Appointment of Auditor

Gerald Hirst proposed Clifford Most, of Montrose Street, to continue as Auditor for MCTCC annual financial accounts.

Proposed by Gerald Hirst,

Seconded by Tam Coyle.

Approved.

Appointment of Community Councillors

All Glasgow community councils have received emailed instructions from GCC Community Empowerment Services, by Steven Dowling (Community Officer) that Office Bearers will be elected at AGMs held in 2023.

This being the case, the following people agree to continue to as MCTCC Community Councillors:-

Duncan MacLaren, Tam Coyle, Gerald Hirst, Peter Hayman, Eileen Mills, Niall McColl, David Cowan, Daniel O’Malley and Scott Thornton. 

NEW MEMBERS 

New members: Gary Atkinson and Carla Arrighi agreed to join as community councillors, there being no objections, they will be forwarded the necessary paperwork. The Chair welcomed them, in advance, to MCTCC.

Next Annual General Meeting

Interim 7pm on Tuesday 25^th October 2022

Full AGM 7pm Tuesday 25^th October 2023

There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.25pm.

Actions Agreed

1. The 2021 AGM minutes will be approved at the 25^th October 2022 meeting of MCTCC.
2. The appointment of an independent auditor will be agreed at the 25^th October 2022 meeting of MCTCC and the accounts be passed over to the company/individual.

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