General Meeting 3rd November 2025
GOVAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL MINUTES
GENERAL MEETING
MONDAY 3rd OF NOVEMBER 2025 AT PEARCE INSTITUTE
- Attendance & Apologies
Attendance - Claire Dickson (Chair), Greg Easton (Secretary), Danny O’Neill, Chloe Bell, Marie Moody, Kathleen Carabine, André Videla, Madeleine Skeoch, John Foster, Esme Clark, Gina Preston, Robert Preston, Councillor Richard Bell
Apologies - Dan Hutchison, Marie Davidson, Dr Zubir Ahmed, Imran Alam
- Approve minutes from AGM & General Meeting held October 2025
Approved by Robert Preston and seconded by Esme Clark.
- Appointment of Treasurer outstanding
The audit is still outstanding from the previous period, it has been passed to the auditor and should be ready for Wednesday, where hopefully the accounts can be confirmed at the next meeting.
Regarding the outstanding Treasurer position, Marie Moody was asked if she would be willing to accept the role. She expressed she has a lot on her plate with other roles, and would ultimately accept the Treasurer role if necessary. However, she would very much appreciate it if someone else would take on the role.
The Chair has agreed that she will explore all possible avenues with the full members who are able to accept the position and we will return to it at the December meeting.
- Outstanding Matters and Updates
- Active Travel
The Secretary advised the CC that they will be attending a meeting on Thursday 20th of November to find out more about the plans following the previous rounds of feedback and engagement.
Therefore, at the December meeting we will have more plans and information to present and discuss.
- Govan Fire Station
The Secretary advised that the letter given by Esme stating the Community Council’s strong objections to loss of a tender at Govan Fire Station had been forwarded to all the representatives in question. No responses from those in question.
- Bridge Naming Progress & Public Notification of Closures
An update from Councillor Hutchison was passed to the Community Council regarding his motion to have our petition to rename the bridge heard at committee. A provisional date was supplied, still waiting on an official date for it to be heard by the Wellbeing, Equalities, Communities, Culture and Engagement City Policy Committee at Glasgow City Council. More details will follow when known. John Foster asked about witnesses and experts being necessary, Councillor Bell advised that due to this being handled through committee rather than a different procedure, it is unlikely to be required.
There have been strong efforts by the Community Council members to get this matter forward, and a track record of past success with the Mary Barbour Statue led by Esme Clark and the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI).
It was agreed for the secretary to write to the members of the committee on behalf of Govan CC to put our support behind naming the bridge after Mary Barbour.
A sub-item was brought up concerning publicly available information about the bridge opening and closing times, signage, and contracts. There was a note that social media updates appear to have stopped, this will be investigated. A query was raised about whether or not signage at the bridge would be possible to show opening/closing times and bridge status. Councillor Bell pointed out that you would still need to travel to the bridge to see the sign, almost defeating the purpose of such infrastructure - perhaps an online system would be better. However, based on current contracts, this is not possible. Due to limited budgets and contracts that are still part of the bridge’s construction, signage is not a priority and an online notification system cannot be achieved at this time.
It is still a desire of some on the Community Council to have clearer scheduling, more notification of closures. It would be sensible to ensure that this major infrastructure project is reliable and accessible. People will not use it and plan journeys around it, if it cannot be trusted to be open for crossings.
- Elder Park Facilities
Members of Friends of Elder Park were not present, but an enquiry was made as to whether or not FoEP was a formal, structured “Friends of” organisation or not. They are indeed a group who meet at Elder Park Library with a formal structure behind them.
There is no progress on their outstanding issues. Such as new storage and the lease on the
boathouse which is currently in effect. Regarding water access, Elder Park does have a history of public water fountains. A query was made about whether or not those were still present, had been capped off, had been removed, or what the status of these utilities were. Councillor Bell advised he would enquire with the Head of Parks.
We are aware that storage is an outstanding problem greatly reducing the effectiveness of the FoEP. Previous storage was broken into and set on fire, therefore secure storage is required. It may be worth engaging with local buildings such as Fairfield Heritage and BAE to see if there is anything, no matter how small, that could be volunteered for their use.
Their work may be reduced now due to the winter period. The Community Council will continue to offer FoEP any assistance where we can, but do not wish to step on their toes.
- AOCB
- Firework Control Zone
There was a discussion around the issue of firework sales and the constant setting off of fireworks in the local area which can be experienced from the first moment they go on sale. The Chair brought up the appearance of the Firework Store on Shaw Street and enquired as to what procedures would need to be undertaken to open such a store. Due to the speed at which it opened, had it been able to secure the requisite licenses on time? Councillor Bell will enquire that everything was followed and if necessary pass onto enforcement teams.
Regarding a Firework Control Zone, the Secretary advised of the procedure and what the long-term plan would be for something like this. It can be led by a Community Council, so if there was sufficient local desire to explore it, we could do so. Naturally, we are not saying that we want one and full consultation would be sought, but we could be ones to bring it to our residents.
There was no agreement on whether or not we should, therefore, we can look to address it again in December when we have more time to do so. There is an absence of formal, public displays in the area due to budget constraints and logistics, so naturally putting a ban on anything but those with an FCZ could be an essential blanket ban.
- Lyceum
Situation with the Lyceum, Councillor Bell followed up that the Community Interest placed on property is indeed progress. But that is Part 1 of a five-part process, which could ultimately lead to a community buyout with a price set by an independent valuer. There would need to be strong local appetite and drive behind this, as while great work was undertaken to secure the necessary 500 signatures for Part 1, further steps would require 5000 local residents, on the electoral roll and with formal ballot replies. Plus, long-term funding and organisation of what the community would do with the building going forward.
- Bin Hubs Rollout
The rollout of the new on-street bin hubs has continued. Chair conveyed the original concerns around the height of the containers potentially being out of reach for some. However, they have seen an improvement in waste management in the area and that they have been an overall net positive for the area. A point was raised regarding no bin hubs in certain parts of the area such as Burndyke Square. Councillor Bell explained that the rollout was not yet complete, therefore will wait for now. He continued that the benefits for the council and the cleansing staff are also really strong, and that what this CC has seen has been repeated in other parts of the city. A timeline of: initial hesitation (sometimes outright opposition), they are installed after consultation, and then once the benefits are seen they have great support. It will take time for people to adjust to a change, but the CC agrees that there has been a positive change despite the loss of a few parking spaces.
- Planning & Licensing Updates
There have been no emails received to the CC members about this. However, local residents have been alerted via mail drop about a plan and our Planning Lead Madeleine raised concerns around Planning Application 25/01785/FUL, for the Car Wash at 205 Crossloan Road, Govan, G51 3QD.
For those unfamiliar with the car wash and the history at the site, a brief overview of the business and planning history was provided. With reference to a 2020 planning application to give permission for a retail unit, then the opening of the car wash with retrospective planning.
Local residents received notifications of the plan this month, and Madeleine Skeoch, our Planning Lead, reviewed it and raised objections. These objections concerned the absence of the bus stop from the submitted drawings, an understatement of The Fairfield Club’s usage, and a failure to manage vehicle flows, particularly regarding the traffic island in the middle of the road. The Community Council therefore agreed to submit a formal objection to the plan.
The Secretary submitted a formal objection the next day, Tuesday the 4th of November via Glasgow City Council’s Online Planning Portal.
The discussion around the Car Wash Planning Application also raised concerns on other matters. The brightness and positioning of the lights used are shining directly in the windows of the properties on the opposite side of the road. There have been a number of new signs installed, some on the exterior wall of the property adjoining the car wash. An initial contact with Elderpark Housing Association shows no permission has been granted to install those on their building. Plus, concerns around noise from music being played, equipment, and staff shouting. These matters will require further follow-up at future meetings, but have been duly noted.
- Reports from officials
- Organisation - Govan Letter future editions
With the change in leadership of the Community Council, a query was raised about the publication of the Govan Letter and when steps should be taken. This was explained and is likely something needing to be followed up in the new year.
Any available past editions of The Govan Letter will be archived where possible, and made available online if possible. The ongoing existence of The Govan Letter remains a priority for the Community Council, online resources are important in this digital era but they cannot be the only option.
- Website, Email, and Social Media Pages
The website has been brought up to date with regards to the publication of Minutes from past meetings, and Greg Easton will continue to offer assistance to André Videla in his capacity as Website and Digital Lead.
It was agreed that having specific, formal @govancommunitycouncil.org would be useful. André will explore options.
- Councillor Richard Bell
Councillor Bell was offered time to give a report. However, he felt that all matters he would have given a report on have been covered already by the CC. Reminding those in attendance again about the meeting set for the 20th of November regarding the Active Travel and Connecting Greater Govan Project.
- Next meeting date
Our next meeting will be held in the Pearce Institute Cafe on Monday the 1st of December 2025.
The Community Council reminds that all those who live locally in the Govan CC area are welcome to attend, bring matters to our attention, and take part.