General Meeting 1st December 2025

Govan Community Council Minutes
Monday 1st of December 2025 at 7pm
Held at Pearce Institute Cafe, 840-860 Govan Rd, Glasgow G51 3UU

1. Attendance & Apologies

In Attendance: Claire Dickson (Chair), Willie Jones (Vice Chair), Greg Easton (Secretary), Robert Preston, Gina Preston, Chloe Bell, Esme Clark, Tahlia Groucott (Dig In), John Foster, Danny O’Neill, Annie Morgan, Deirdre Gaughan (Govan East CC), Dan Hutchison (Glasgow City Council)
Apologies Received: Stephen Dornan, Ricky Bell, Marie Moody, Marie Davidson, Madeleine Skeoch, Katherine Carabine

2. Governance

Minutes deferred until January, will approve both then.

• Treasurer position still unconfirmed This matter will be carried over until January. The accounts have been audited and in the interim passed to The Secretary to be sent to Glasgow City Council for end of year deadlines.

• Membership update Reinheild Gorniak, our former treasurer has resigned from Govan Community Council due to ill health. The new and former leadership groups of the Community Council extend our sincerest thanks to Reinheild for her hard work over the years and service to the people of Govan.
  A query was raised on when new members to the Community Council could be elected. The Secretary will investigate and update with the options at our next meeting to be held in January 2025.

  There is a strong desire among the group to encourage more local members where we can and ensure this group has full representation of Govan going forward.

3. Outstanding Matters and Updates

• Govan Bridge Naming Progress Councillor Hutchison gave a brief summation of the history of naming the Govan-Partick Bridge after Mary Barbour and what had turned into a longer procedure than had been hoped for. An initial petition was put in last year, it was not called forward to be debated and left unactioned by Glasgow City Council. This was including six months of effort and campaigning by our former Chair. Therefore, Councillor Hutchison put the matter forward at the Wellbeing, Equalities, Communities, Culture and Engagement City Policy Committee and following a long debate the following steps are proposed: A public engagement in the new year to decide on if the bridge is renamed and what it would become.

  Govan East Chair Deirde Gaughan attended the meeting to clarify that Govan East is opposed to naming the bridge for Mary Barbour. They feel Mary Barbour has sufficient tributes in the form of the statue at Govan Cross and that they feel they weren’t involved in the process. Plus, other local people could be fitting of the tribute and there are lots of other ideas out there among the people of the Greater Govan area. Ms Gaughan felt it was strange that a petition from 20 people could lead to a major piece of infrastructure being renamed. It was also stated that Partick Community Council opposed it also as they weren’t consulted. However, records show that communication was extended to Partick Community Council as per minutes from November 2024.

  Following a discussion, Associate Member Danny O’Neil who was the Chair when this process began stated why this happened. The matter of naming the bridge after Mary Barbour was raised, therefore Govan Community Council did what it was supposed to do and looked to raise the matter with Glasgow City Council. It was always a goal of getting the matter heard at a meeting. This is a wider issue where if the public have an opinion on a matter, raise a petition, then the City Council should have the courtesy to listen to them. This matter took a full year to even get to this position, which should never have happened.

• Govan Fire Station The Secretary advised the Community Council that there was no response to our correspondence surrounding our opposition to the permanent removal of the second tender at Govan Fire Station. Looking at publicly available information from Committees at Glasgow CC, Area Partnerships, and Public Relations releases from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), it is looking unlikely that Govan will have the second tender restored.

  Govan Community Council remains opposed to actions proposed by SFRS. Especially in light of the recent planning consent given to a battery storage facility on Helen Street.

• Active Travel Updates The Secretary advised on the updates of the Active Travel proposals for the Greater Govan area following their attendance at a Community Council engagement session on the 20th of November 2025.

  First, as part of the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF) Stage 1, each Community Council was allocated funding to be spent at their discretion for immediate upgrades that could be actioned to improve walking, wheeling, and cycling in their communities. Govan CC had been allocated funding for this, however it was unactioned as Glasgow CC had been unable to reach us through proper channels. Due to a loss in access to the older email addresses that we had given the City Council to use. Therefore, the deadline for applying for these upgrades was Friday 28th November. All Community Council members were asked for suggestions, and The Secretary completed a walk around the area with two members of the Neighbourhood, Regeneration, and Sustainability team to identify areas where the funding could be used to provide maximum benefit. Following this, a separate report was submitted with extra suggestions for dropped kerbs, tactile paving, and placemaking.

  Regarding the Connecting Greater Govan Plan, which was a proposal of two upgrade packages called Red and Yellow covering 27km of upgrades to pavements, pedestrian crossing points, enhanced street lighting, benches and placemaking, cycle lanes, and reducing vehicle speeds near schools - these plans have been cancelled. Due to opposition from elsewhere in the local area and lack of public responses in the consultation.

  There is a plan circulating that was proposed by Drumoyne, Govan East, and Central Govan Action Plan (CGAP) about alternative uses for the funding. It was relayed at the meeting on 20/11/25 that the funding that was going to be applied for is part of the Scottish Government Active Travel Infrastructure funding. It can only be used for upgrades on main carriageways, related to improving travel and connectivity. It cannot be used for upgrading parks or putting cycle lanes on a waterfront not owned by Glasgow City Council.

  A new plan has been proposed and will be consulted upon in the new year. The goal of this plan is to connect the bridge at Water Row with the wider network of cycle paths in Glasgow, down to Pollok Park. Timeline is a consultation in the new year with the aim of being in multiple locations, engaging as many people as possible. Since loss of parking was such a concern, these plans centre around losing zero parking spots.

  A discussion followed about the fact that Central Govan has essentially lost a vast amount of upgrades and none are planned. Our next step as a Community Council is to ensure that we get the public involved in the consultation, as there was not enough involvement from our residents.

4. New Business

• Elder Park - Updates Information was requested on the Portico structure as Friends of Elder Park (FoEP) had communication with Glasgow CC related to new fencing and signage at the Portico to protect it and make it more of an attraction. Councillor Hutchison agreed to follow this matter up. Another matter was that floodlighting had been requested to be re-instated around both Elder statues and Elder Park Library.

  Additionally, lines of communication have been lost to the Neighbourhood, Regeneration, and Sustainability (NRS) team with FoEP due to staff changes. Connections will look to be re-established there and with the Parks Department. Again, Councillor Hutchison will look to make arrangements to this effect and arrange meetings between FoEP, Glasgow CC, and area Councillors.

  Councillor Hutchison informed the meeting that the City Council is exploring lighting in other parks. If FoEP had any inclination towards that for Elder Park, it is something he can assist with. Will defer this matter to meetings of FoEP.

• Greenfield Primary School A query was raised regarding the status of Greenfield Primary School. (Context: A disused B-Listed building located at 29 Nimmo Dr, Govan, G51 3SZ) Ownership is known, and other organisations have been interested in it. But the funding requirements are high, therefore nothing likely to happen in the immediate future.

  It was agreed to request and look into what actions could be requested from Glasgow CC regarding cleaning up the surrounding area due to overgrown weeds on pavements, litter, flytipping, and other issues. The area has been forgotten, but a new housing complex is due to open soon on the adjacent site on which formerly stood The Elderpark Centre, therefore some attention would be welcomed.

• The Jim Craig Govan Foundation We had two visitors from Jim Craig Govan Foundation who wished to discuss the objectives of their organisation and involve the community council early in their process. They explained the background of Jim Craig, the wider context of other statues around Scotland for other members of the Lisbon Lions team, and the long term objectives of the foundation once the statue is in place regarding maintenance and supporting local people.

  A query was raised regarding vandalism potential, the attendees from the foundation stated there have been no issues at the other statues elsewhere in the country. Research before this meeting confirmed this, along with the statues being well attended and admired parts that can draw people to them. Therefore, the community council agreed to offer what support it could. Potential timescale for 2027 and the 60th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions victory. Will explore potential for a feature as part of the next edition of The Govan Letter to raise awareness, which is their main need at present. Councillor Hutchison also offered assistance to liaise with Glasgow City Council.

• Old Bank of Scotland Premises - Proposed Community Use Annie Morgan raised the need for additional community hubs in the Govan area. While the library is a great venue following the modernisation and renovation, only limited organisations are able to book the venue for their use. One idea is to take over the former Bank of Scotland premises, either as a community bank/café or standalone zero waste cafe and community hub. Other premises and their potential blockers were discussed. Along with other premises that had been leased in the area but not yet utilised by the new leaseholders.

  Ultimately, Councillor Hutchison agreed to offer assistance and coordination with Annie Morgan and the plans.

• Friends of Elder Park - Proposed Community Fruit Orchard This matter was dealt with during the discussion on wider Elder Park updates, it had overlap with the issue of losing contact with those in the NRS and Parks team.

5. AOCB

• Fairfield Club The Community Council is aware of the issues relating to The Fairfield Club. Councillor Hutchison will ask Glasgow CC and is happy to meet with owners and management of the club if they wish.

• Dig In Community Greengrocers Thalia Groucott from Dig in Community Greengrocers on Crossloan Road attended the meeting to provide updates and seek assistance. They are working as part of a research team at University of Glasgow studying the impact of affordable fruits and vegetables partnering with Dig In. Wanted to come along and extend an invitation for anyone to be involved, as they need help forming an advisory group. The Community Council is happy to offer any assistance, and the offer extends to others.

6. Planning & Licensing Updates

• Update on Govan Carwash at 205 Crossloan Road The application for a second gate at the car wash, intended to create separate entry/exit points, was rejected.

• Jewsons at 92 Helen Street They have applied to install updated branded signage on their building and at the entrance with a standing totem.
  The Community Council has no objections to these plans.

• 266 Helen Street - Former Iron Mountain Office, application made by The JR Group Ltd. Application of a new office and warehouse for the group’s scaffolding and construction divisions. The location is directly opposite Govan Vehicle Salvage Yard and they will be creating a new entrance off Helen Street as opposed to the current vehicle entrance at the rear on Birkmyre Road.
  An objection was raised regarding their plans to cut into the pavement table and lower it to the same level as the road, rather than leaving the existing pavement table at the same height for the benefit of those walking or wheeling.
  It was agreed to submit an objection in principle to the lowering of the pavement table.

• Elderpark Housing Association has applied to replace the windows of properties on 10-40 Elderpark Street and 211 Crossloan Road. Changes explained, support for plans given.

7. Reports from Officials

• Councillor Dan Hutchison Councillor Hutchison has fully returned to work following a period of medical leave. First, he has received multiple complaints over the past six months regarding bird droppings at Govan Cross. Glasgow City Council has attended and cleaned the area and will shortly install signs instructing people not to feed the birds. The Community Council agreed that the issue will only persist as long as people keep feeding them, therefore it is in the hands of local residents and people using the area to understand the consequences of feeding pigeons.

  Christmas Tree switch on will take place on Thursday 11th December. Everyone is welcome to attend the switch on.

  Finally, the legislation banning the parking on pavements has passed and is in full effect now. A citywide analysis took place and while some roads around the city were exempt for various reasons, none of these are in the Govan area. Therefore, residents and visitors are risking a £100 fine by parking on the pavement.

8. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of Govan Community Council will take place on the 12th of January at 7pm in the Pearce Institute Cafe on Govan Road. The convention is for the first Monday, however this has traditionally been postponed for a week following Hogmanay.