General Meeting 2nd of March 2026

Govan Community Council
Minutes for General Meeting 2nd of March 2026
7pm at Maslow’s Community Hub, 94 Langlands Rd, Glasgow, G51 3BQ

1. Attendance and Apologies
   Present: Claire Dickson (Chair), Willie Jones (Vice Chair), Greg Easton (Secretary), Paul MacAlinden, Katherine McNab, Zevon Rustom (Dr Zubir Ahmed MP representative), Marie Davidson, Marie Moody, Anne Melvin, Esme Clark, Cllr. Stephen Dornan, Robert Preston, Gina Preston, John Foster, Madeleine Skeoch, Annie Morgan, Cllr. Ricky Bell
   Apologies: Cllr. Dan Hutchison, Danny O’Neill, Cllr. Imran Alam

2. Approval of Minutes
   The minutes from February 2026 were approved by Willie Jones and Madeleine Skeoch. Some of the previous matters were brought up at the mention of the February minutes, but they were going to come up later so were deferred until then.

3. Matters Arising

   1. 5th Govan Music Festival
      Paul McAlinden thanked the meeting for being given the opportunity to discuss the upcoming 5th Govan Music Festival. A full summary and description of the events were given. The pricing models and acts were explained. Agreed to provide coverage and reviews in The Govan Letter.

      The meeting thanked Paul for taking the time to explain the event and for the hard work in making something like this happen for the community.

   2. Treasurer Position
      After discussion, it seemed unlikely that anyone else in the organisation would be able to take on the Treasurer role due to external commitments. Therefore, it was agreed to go with the plan to appoint Willie Jones in a dual role, with permission already granted by Glasgow City Council.

      Nominated by Greg Easton and seconded by Madeline Skeoch. Arrangements would be made to change accounts, account holders and other matters at the next meeting.

   3. Bridge Consultation
      Information was provided to attendees around the meeting that was due to take place the following day on Tuesday 3rd of March at Riverside Museum. Following the petition passed by Govan Community Council and brought to committee by Councillor Dan Hutchison, Glasgow City Council had agreed to hold a consultation with the other Community Councils in the area around renaming The Govan-Partick Bridge to The Mary Barbour Bridge.

      John Foster was aware of this meeting and discussed his arrangements, and the summary of the work completed so far. It was made clear that Glasgow CC had made the purpose of this meeting on whether or not the bridge should even be considered for renaming - not renaming it to The Mary Barbour bridge. At the meeting, each Community Council would be given 10 minutes to present their argument for or against. Experts could be brought and a roundtable discussion would follow. As many as possible were encouraged to attend the meeting due to the roundtable element and to show support for our proposals. An update will be provided at the next meeting.

4. Outstanding Matters & Updates

   1. Govan Letter
      John Foster provided the meeting with an update on the current status of the next edition of the Govan Letter. A rough deadline for outstanding content was given at one week from the time of the meeting, and updates on advertisements to cover the cost of the publication.

      It was proposed that Govan CC should look to hold a Hustings Event for the upcoming Scottish Parliament election. Perhaps in the 3rd week of April and if possible involve assistance from other Community Councils in the constituency area. Ibrox & Cessnock CC held one for the most recent UK General Election, and have expertise. Secretary Greg Easton agreed to take the lead on starting the process for the Hustings Event. Updates will be provided at the next meeting.

      Circling back to the publication of the Govan Letter, the issues that this Community Council wishes our representatives to focus on should take prominence in the Letter and be the focus of the questions proposed to the candidates for the Hustings.

   2. Active Travel Plans and Updates
      The Secretary shared with the meeting a community engagement pack similar to those which has been on display at the recent Consultation Drop-In sessions held by Sustainable Travel for Connecting Greater Govan .

      Some questions were raised around traffic lights at Edmiston Drive and Broomloan Road. It was explained that these would be a system based on cameras and sensors to judge traffic flows and adjust times accordingly. Plus, this now means pedestrians can cross at this junction without risking death, so that’s a good thing. Especially in light of the upcoming housing being built in the former Albion Car Park and what has already been built behind the Football Centre. Plus, potential for additional housing in the former Iona Court site and surrounding area which will be adjacent to this new pedestrian and cycle infrastructure.

      The plans look positive if realised, and dates were provided for the other upcoming drop in sessions, including one to be held outside Govan Subway Station. The consultation is open until the end of March. A longer period than before, but past issues were around low volume of residents responding to it.

5. Reports

   1. Elected Officials
      Councillor Stephen Dornan
      Cllr Dornan made the meeting aware of a consultation going to make modifications to the Fastlink sections in Broomielaw, potentially to remove those lanes for dedicated cycle infrastructure. He feels if this was to happen it may jeopardise the X19 bus which runs from the city centre to the QUEH. Some in the meeting felt there was sufficient space in the shared use walkways for pedestrians and cyclists to use it.

      Enquiries will be made to the status of such a consultation and we would look to oppose anything which may degrade service for such a vital link.

      Councillor Richard Bell
      Cllr Bell advised the meeting that due to budgets being set for the upcoming year, Glasgow City Council (GCC) will extend free meals up to all Primary age children, extending previous support which covered up to P6.

      Regarding issues around Cleansing, there are now clean teams assigned in every ward across the city. Workloads are variable between the different wards and extra resources may be allocated where the greatest need is. Problems around roadside gulleys flooding has been noted and additional investment is being actioned, particularly around specialist suction vehicles to clear blockages in an antiquated system.

      Homelessness is a big issue for GCC, and Cllr Bell stated that GCC felt some issues were being exacerbated by UK Government policy. Particularly around the fast tracking of asylum applications to keep applicants out of hotels, with batch processing of decisions. At this point, the people going through this process become the responsibility of GCC or other local councils. With a £65m overspend on the relative budget area, GCC has written to the UK Government for support on this matter.

      An additional £20m has been allocated to pothole and road repair with steps already carried out to assess the roads most affected and make plans. The Neighbourhood Infrastructure Improve Fund (NIIF) has seen money allocated to Elder Park for various projects which are yet to be fully announced.

      The Lyceum Development Trust has moved the process of Community Ownership on to Phase 2, which now means that Govan Lyceum Development Trust SCIO has first refusal, but any offer is still subject to market value and demand. The goal remains to proceed to Part 5, but the Trust needs to build membership and engagement from the community. Especially as Part 5 requires a ballot of residents on the electoral register.

      Dr Zubir Ahmed MP
      Zevon Rustom attended the meeting as the representative for Dr Ahmed. He reinforced that his office is willing to assist constituents in what matters to them. The Coffee Morning held recently in the constituency was a success and he thanked those who attended, as many issues and matters were covered. A further one was announced for 21st of March, with location to be determined based on demand.

      Following up on matters previously raised, Dr Ahmed’s office had a discussion with Park Villa regarding Friends of Elder Park (FoEP) and their desire to gain access to the space currently being used by Park Villa. Park Villa confirmed their previous stance, the space is being used and is being used throughout the year and is valuable to them. They have no desire to share or surrender the space. Councillor Bell is due to meet Park Villa regarding a different matter shortly and will also raise it then. But the facts are that Park Villa has a lease in place, regardless of what other facilities they have elsewhere in the Langlands Road Campus.

      Updates have been received regarding the downgrade to Govan Fire Station. Dr Ahmed’s Office has been informed that no final decision will be made until after the election in May, aiming for June once the election has happened. This is likely due to not wishing to make this change close to an election.

      Regarding long-term issues of access to cash, this has become a national problem and Dr Ahmed MP is following up on the matter both locally with SPT and nationally with the Minister for the Treasury. Which leads onto another national issue with Royal Mail and intermittent postal service. This is naturally having knock on effects for NHS appointments and other important matters. With colleagues in government and the Minister for Small Business, Royal Mail have agreed improvements are necessary.

   2. Area Partnership Report
      The Secretary advised the meeting about the main topics from the most recent Area Partnership Meeting. Upgrades for the playground at the Drive Road end of Elder Park are progressing, but have a long lead time so likely be something or next year. The other was the unconfirmed NIIF allocation for resurfacing sections of Govan Road. This was not passed and further investigations are planned.

   3. Planning & Licensing
      No new Planning or Licensing applications found or received in the past month. Concerns still exist around receiving information from Glasgow City Council. The Secretary agreed to contact GCC and ensure licensing information is sent over. Planning we can find ourselves, licensing is more difficult.

   4. Chair and Vice Chair Report
      The Chair and Vice Chair gave an update on their meeting with Jim Ellis, the Neighbourhood Coordinator for NRS. Discussed the needs of the area and that he would circulate all of the Community Council’s of his responsibility once every quarter. Advised of the main issues Govan is experiencing and advised in the short-term the best approach is to report any issues. More reports means more resources can be allocated here. But overall, the initial meeting went well and it was good to connect with him and re-establish a relationship between his team and the Community Council.

6. AOCB or Questions
   1. Energy On Clyde (Gren)
      The meeting was in danger of running long so this was kept brief, however the Secretary advised about a consultation being run by Gren UK about the Energy on Clyde project. Information was included in handouts to attendees about what the consultation was about and that it was being held in The Pearce Institute on 4th of March between 3-7pm.
7. Date of Next Meeting
   Our convention is to miss dates that are normally Bank Holidays, however due to the pressing deadlines of The Govan Letter and other matters, it was agreed to still hold it on Monday 6th April 2026 at 7pm in Maslow’s Community Hub.