General Meeting 7rd February 2023
GOVAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF GENERAL MEETING
MONDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2023
Present: Esme Clark, Allan Bell, Reinhild Gorniack, Annie Morgan, Danny O’Neill, John Foster, Jackie McColl, Robert Preston, Gina Preston, Councillors Alam and Dornan
Apologies: Betty Ross, Cllrs Bell and Hutchison
Minute Secretary: John Foster
1.MINUTES OF JANUARY MEETING
These were moved as correct by Danny O’Neill and Esme Clark
2. SPEAKERS
a) Paul MacAlindin to speak on Govan’s Music Festival 15-18 March: not able to be present.
b) Susan Burn – Community Engagement Officer, Govan Housing Association, attended to describe her role and to strengthen involvement with the Community Council in joint initiatives to improve our locality. Her work involved liaison with all tenants of the Association across the Greater Govan Area and also the Association’s 500 factored owners. Since taking up office she had organised the Govan Gala and numerous events that enabled tenants to strengthen active engagement with the work of the Association. Her department issued regular bulletins and information sheets, offered annual grants to local voluntary organisations (up to £500 each), held open meetings for tenants and had sponsored clean up initiatives. The next community litterpick was on 24^th^ February at 2.30 p.m. Discussion picked up the issue of litter and dog fouling – and also the robustness of procedures by which tenants could get speedy remediation of emergencies and repairs. Susan was thanked for her attendance and the Chair indicated that it would be important to maintain liaison in terms of future work.
c) Brian McMahon – project manager for the redevelopment of the Lyceum Cinema. Brian described plans to redevelop the building with a) a cinema b) a café associated with the cinema b) a venue for licenced functions. He reported that a Section 50 permission had been secured from the Planning Committee for such uses but that plans had yet to go to Building Control and to Licensing. It would be a commercial venture with no public funding. The cinema had potential capacity for 2,000 – though modern style seating might reduce this to 440 and there was also thought being given to two screens. The catering would be limited to café style with no cooking on the premises itself.
In discussion issues were raised about parking (there was virtually none currently in central Govan and the situation was likely to get worse rather than better), about the current status and repair of the building (Brian indicated that the main cinema area was wind and watertight – although there was wet and dry rot requiring treatment. Councillors Alam and Dornan raised questions about legal process and how far the remedial work and proposed uses would match criteria for licensing and building control.
Brian said he would return in six month once plans had proceeded further and offered to organised a visit to the building.
3. LITTER AND DOG FOULING
Annie Morgan has asked that this be put early on the agenda. It was generally agreed that the level of litter, of all kinds, and dog fouling had reached a level that required collective action. Descriptions were made of the situation in the streets around Elder Park. It agreed that this experience matched that in parts of Central Govan as well. It was noted that the one street sweeper employed by the Council was doing an excellent job - but there appeared to be only one such street sweeper and the task required significantly more. Annie Morgan noted that she had herself organised community clean ups but that the scale of the problem made it difficult to sustain these voluntary efforts
Following discussion it was agreed that:
a) A letter be sent to Chief Executive of the City Council, copied to Jim Ellis and to local councillors describing this situation and requesting a) how many street sweepers were allocated to the Govan CC area b) that this number be increased c) requesting that Community Safety officers be made available to take on their previous role of responding to local requests to prosecute and fine identified dog fouling offenders – in liaison with local residents and housing organisations – and that, as had been done previously, posters be displayed locally indicating that such offences would be prosecuted.
b) A copy of this letter be sent to the three local HAs, Govan, Elderpark and Wheatley, with a cover letter asking that they also make representations to the City Council, and liaise with Community Safety about disseminating information (including the serious health hazards, especially for children, arising from dog fouling).
5.MATTERS ARISING
Bus Franchising
This issue was held over to the March meeting.
6. MEETING WITH HUMZA YOUSAF MSP
This meeting, scheduled for Friday, had again been cancelled. A note had been received giving a response from Patrick Harvie as relevant minister to the outcome of the Community Council’s petition of the appeal rights of Scottish Special Housing Tenants. Briefer comments had been sent on the other issues raised and an offer of a new meeting or briefing made. It was agreed that our Vice Chair should respond.
7. PROPOSAL FOR A PUBLIC MEETING ON THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS ON 5 APRIL
A room in the Pearce Institute had been booked 7-9 pm (Billiards Room) at the cost of £50. We would return to the issue of speakers, as detailed in the January minutes, at our next meeting.
8. PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE GOVAN LETTER
This should be produced early in March, with a proof going to the March meeting, for distribution over the weeks prior to the April 5 public meeting. The meeting authorised spending to enable the commercial distribution of the Letter to 2,000 houses within our area (just under half the total for the CC area). The meeting also authorised the printing of 2,250 copies of the Bulletin.
9. SECRETARY’S REPORT
Gordon McKay had written requesting representations be made to the SPT for notice to be displayed at the Govan Cross Bus station listing buses and their routes. It was agreed that this be done.
10. COUNCILLORS’S REPORTS
Councillor Alam
Ibrox Library and local library services
It was planned to close the Ibrox Library for refurbishment once the Elderpark Library was again open. He also mentioned the danger of budget cuts reducing library services.
Full Council meeting next week to set the budget for the coming year
Councillor Alam feared cuts across the board with Glasgow Life particularly vulnerable.
Ukrainean refugees: finding alternative accommodation
The cruise liner currently in KGV dock accommodating refugees was being repurposed and new accommodation would have to be found. Some refugees will go to Dundee but alternative local accommodation was problematic.
In this connection the meeting noted that the danger of extreme right-wing elements exploiting the situation – as had been done with the accommodation for Albanian asylum seekers in Erskine at the weekend – and we should be alert and if required liaise with East Govan and Ibrox CCs.
John Kane
Cllr Alam noted that the previous councillor for Govan was seriously ill. The meeting offered its best wishes for a speedy recovery.
**11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: MONDAY 6 MARCH at 7 p.m. in ELDERPARK W