minutes

General Meeting 12th of Janaury 2026

Govan Community Council
Minutes for General Meeting 12th of January 2026
7pm at Pearce Institute, Govan

Attendance and Apologies
Attending: Claire Dickson (Chair), Willie Jones (Vice Chair), Greg Easton (Secretary), Robert Preston, Gina Preston, Anne Morgan, John Foster, Madeleine Skeoch, Esme Clark, Kate McNab, Dan Hutchison (Glasgow City Council), Danny O’Neill
Apologies: Richard Bell, Marie Davison, Katherine Carabine
Approval of Outstanding Minutes
The outstanding minutes for November 2025 and December 2025 were approved by Madeleine Skeoch and seconded by Willie Jones.
Matters Arising
1. Treasurer Position and Finance Tasks
  After discussion of the options for the Community Council to fill the vacant Treasurer position, our existing eligible members are unable to accept due to their outside commitments. Therefore, we either open applications to new membership or seek to invoke Clause 9 (e) from the Scheme of Establishment for Community Councils (2018) and have someone undertake a dual role.
  
  It was agreed to seek permission from Glasgow City Council for Willie Jones to act in a dual role as Vice Chair and Treasurer. The Secretary will write to Glasgow City Council and move this forward.
  
  Additional information was sought on who the bank signatories were and it was agreed that this should be changed only when we have a new Treasurer appointed.
2. Future Membership
  At our last meeting a query was raised around filling the vacant positions on the Community Council. The Secretary advised that Govan CC has 14 spots that can be filled and with a member resigning in December, we currently sit at 9. If our membership was to drop to 50% of our allocation (7 in this case) we risk dissolution. We can look to hold Interim Elections at any time by minuting our decision to do so and asking Glasgow City Council to administer it for us. They may decline to do so without good reason as our AGM was in October 2025, however resignation of members is a valid reason. We will not proceed with seeking Interim Elections at this time.
  
  It was agreed however that we should try to get more people to attend the meetings by any means necessary. Our next edition of The Govan Letter, Social Media, and Word of Mouth. If residents attend the meetings, they can find out whether it is for them or not and then decide to seek election. Rather than seeking to elect people who may not know what we do here.
  
  The future of Govan is happening here and vital work is happening through this Community Council, and we want and need the community to be involved which we can accomplish by involving the community.
3. Area Partnership Meeting 3rd of February
  Our Chair received communication from Glasgow City Council asking for nominees to attend Govan Area Partnership going forward.
  
  Greg Easton will be lead member, Madeline Skeoch substitute and Esme Clark as a second substitute.
4. Discretionary Grant Fund
  The Community Council seeks to request Discretionary Grant Funding for IT equipment to provide a basic laptop computer. There were no objections and The Secretary will take this matter forward.
  
  Additionally, John Foster raised if additional funding may be available to help with the publication of The Govan Letter. There are financial limits on the application and it may be small amounts for both. Additional options were discussed to make the publication and distribution of The Govan Letter possible. These will be explored.
  
  Content ideas around profiles of new leadership, tributes to old leadership, upcoming Scottish Parliament election, and the future of Govan were discussed. John Foster welcomes contributors to get in touch with him.
Outstanding Matters & Updates
1. Scottish Fire & Rescue Service Response
  A response has been received from SFRS and no further communication should be expected. Their position is that the consultation is over and their decision will be published soon, possibly in line with Scottish Government budgets. Either decision for Service Delivery in Glasgow involves Govan permanently losing the second appliance which was withdrawn in September 2023. This will cause an increase in second appliance response times in Govan.
  
  It was recommended that if the Community Council hosts a hustings event in line with the Scottish Parliament election this year, that candidates be quizzed on this matter. Especially since we did not receive any assistance, communication, or support from representatives who may have been distracted with other more high profile roles.
2. Active Travel - Updated Plans Shared
  The changes to Active Travel and Connecting Greater Govan were shared with those in attendance with their public release. Members were reminded of the original plan, and what are comparatively low numbers for responses to the consultation - with the caveat that assigning a response to a Community Council area relied on respondents entering their postcode, which many did not.
  
  Annie Morgan stated she was saddened by the plans being cancelled as it could have brought a number of positives related to walkability. With the understanding that some felt the consultation period for the original Red and Yellow Plans did not involve the community enough - that we were presented with a plan and not involved in the design phase. Plus, the plan was spun by some to talk about and only refer to the cycle lanes and not enough about the other good parts of the plans.
  
  The purpose of this agenda point was to inform all involved what the new plans were and that we need to ensure that when the consultation period is open, that we get involved. The matter will be rested until then.
Reports
1. Elected Officials
  Councillor Hutchison is aware of the issues that present with waste collection over the festive period. Glasgow City Council has stated they look to have the matter resolved by the 20th of January. The outstanding matter of the Govan Partick Bridge naming consultation is likely to have an update in February. Several Glasgow City Council matters and decisions are on hold until the Scottish Government budget is passed and what funding will be available.
  
  A query was raised regarding flooding of streets, Councillor Hutchison is happy to receive any reports from constituents about that and to email him.
2. Planning & Licensing
  Planning and Licensing Representative Madeleine has yet to receive consistent emails from Glasgow CC with each application. She has been checking manually but there are no new applications. The only one received so far has been McDonald’s Helen Street seeking a renewal of their current licence. No objections to this.
  
  It was agreed to contact Glasgow CC to ensure emails are sent and Councillor Hutchison will manually forward emails to Madeline in the interim as they are received by him.
  
  As a general note, the CC is happy to see the retail units on the ground floor of the Water Row development being occupied with strong tenants that should act as a draw to the area.
AOCB or Questions
1. Bin Hubs over Festive Period
  A question was raised regarding the Bin Hubs over the festive period and the recurrence of issues from past years. The backlog was cleared, but this seems to happen every year - whether residents are disposing of their waste in Bin Hubs or wheelie bins in a back court.
  
  Councillor Hutchison states that Glasgow CC leadership seem to be aware of the issue and try every year to ensure it doesn’t get to that level again. The BIn Hubs did overflow with extra waste produced by residents over the festive period, but it was cleared within 2 days. A query was raised regarding extra recruitment and why that did not manage to offset any staffing issues caused by the winter flu that was going around. That recruitment was focused on street cleansing staff.
  
  Residents are encouraged to separate their waste streams and use the recycling bins also, as it was pointed out that most of the issues were caused by black bags containing everything aimed at the Household Waste/Green bins.
  
  For residents in main door properties, a new collection calendar has not been sent out and the council website does not correctly show the Grey metal/plastic bin on schedule. Residents are currently relying on third party websites.
2. Elder Park Funding from 2023
  Willie Jones raised a question regarding funding that was announced for playparks in Elder Park and Festival Park in 2023. Was unsure of the situation and how it had progressed since then. Councillor Hutchison advised that none of the money has been spent yet, currently aiming for upgrades to be completed in Spring 2026. As far as he is aware, procurement and finding suppliers has been a slow process. It is likely that Govan Area Partnership will have updates on this matter during their next meeting in February. Annie Morgan who is also part of Friends of Elder Park was unaware this funding existed and this Friends organisation does not seem to have been informed.
3. Further Community and Elder Park Updates
  Annie Morgan advised the group about a meeting to be held at Sunny G Radio (Located at The Portal, 960 Govan Road, Glasgow, G51 3AJ) on Friday the 30th of January at 12:30pm. The goal is to create a series of events and ways to use the park responsibly. Everyone is encouraged to take part, with the chance to sharpen skills in organisation and event planning. While there will be no large event in 2026, the goal is still to work towards one in 2027.
  
  Communication has been re-established between FoEP and the NRS team at Glasgow City Council. It is hoped that this connection is not lost due to issues of centralisation of functions and services as has happened before. Councillor Hutchison is happy to act as a connector to ensure that doesn’t happen.
  
  It was also proposed to get connection re-established with Jim Ellis, Govan Neighbourhoods Coordinator at NRS. The secretary will email and extend an invitation.
4. Govan Cross Christmas Decorations
  A query was raised about the Christmas tree that was placed in the same square as The Aitken Memorial Fountain in Water Row. The tree was nice, a good height but otherwise lacking, as was the switch on event. Some in the group were uncertain how these decisions were being made and who was responsible for it.
  
  Councillor Hutchison explained the decisions are taken at the Area Partnership level and the funding for the trees is granted to these Wards from Glasgow City Council, with each Ward getting a set amount. If a Partnership wishes to spend over and above this allowance, it comes out of the budget for that Area Partnership. Hypothetically, if additional decorations were installed, this would reduce the money which is currently granted to a number of key programmes, charities, and organisations in the ward. Which is why no additional spend above the grant level takes place.
  
  A discussion took place around additional ways things could be improved for Christmas 2026. In past years, there has been coordination between organisations such as GYIP, The Glasgow Barons, Housing Associations, and others. This year, the event at The Pearce Institute was on at the same time as the one at The Salvation Army, and there may have been 10 attendees at the switch on. Other lighting options such as lights on lampposts as seen in other parts of the city or projections on buildings like Annie Morgan reported seeing elsewhere around the country.
  
  Govan Loves Christmas was formerly led by the Housing Associations, now it appears to be run by The Old Govan Fair SCIO. It was pointed out that The Old Govan Fair SCIO received £9,000 from the Area Partnership budget to fund both the Fair Event on the 6th of June 2025 and the Govan Loves Christmas Event.
  
  The group felt there was need for more coordination between the different organisations in the area and there was too much reliance on certain people to take care of everything. This is a matter that will require follow-up after the Area Partnership meeting in February.
AOCB
1. 20mph zones
  Madeleine Skeoch reminded the meeting that the 20mph City Wide Speed Limit is close to being rolled out and a total of 740 streets will see their speed limit reduced to 20mph. While Govan already has 20mph limits in several streets, this will see an expansion into existing areas of population density. For example, Crossloan Road from The Fairfield Club to M\&D Greens Chemist before going back up to a 30mph zone. More signage is yet to be installed, but it will not be a case that signage is required. The designated streets will default to 20mph, unless otherwise signed
2. Pavement Parking
  A similar reminder around pavement parking was given to the group as well. A query was raised regarding a key area which has been reported several times and has yet to be enforced. Councillor Hutchison stated that it should just keep being reported until enforcement.
3. £3m in funding announced for Parks
  Vice Chair Willie Jones queried that in 2023 there was £3m support for local parks announced in last year’s budget and how this could be used to support Elder Park. Councillor Hutchison was not involved in this process and may be best asked of Councillor Bell, so will defer for next month.
  
  This brought up the issue of opening up lines of communication again to Jim Ellis, perhaps even to attend meetings. The Secretary will contact him and provide an update next month.
4. Portico in Elder Park
  Still awaiting progress for the Portico with Alex Morrison, Councillor Hutchison agreed to follow up.
Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting is set for the 2nd of February at 7pm at The Pearce Institute.

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15 Jan 2026

« General Meeting 1st December 2025

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