Here are some of the slides and information shared with residents and businesses on 14th November, 2019 in preparation for the Euro2020 matches in June 2020. A follow-up session has been promised to take place 'in the Spring'. Please share your thoughts and further questions with us at moflococo@gmail.com

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We held our Annual General Meeting on 22nd October and the Chair gave the report below.

Mount Florida Community Council had a good year fulfilling its constitutional objectives, which are to ascertain the views of local people, to act as a voice on local matters, and to pursue other projects in the interest of the area.

Our most significant project is the redevelopment of Letherby Triangle into a civic space – a focal point for the community and celebration of its location as a Gateway to the city and to the national stadium. Judith and Gavin are leading with tenacity, and we hope to engage consultants on the detail design as soon as Sustrans gets round to issuing a legal agreement.

We have made stuttering progress to drive continuous improvement in Hampden event management, with Alex playing the co-ordinating role. Our participation process, Glasgow’s first ever under the 2015 Community Empowerment has had limited success so far largely because there are so many organisations involved most of which are outside the control of Glasgow City Council.

It was disappointing to see the insensitivity with which the SFA scheduled two semi-finals to be held at Hampden on the same day, especially after we had put ourselves out to support Hampden’s bid to remain the home of Scottish football. Such a double-header was widely expected to have been a logistical mess and caused unnecessary disruption to local people. Sense prevailed in the end and the matches were rescheduled.

We will demand that the UEFA Championships Local Organising Committee engage with the community ahead of the matches in June 2020. Our first step has been to give evidence to a parliamentary committee scrutinising the Bill that intends to protect UEFA revenue. The design and operation of the event revenue protection zone and security cordon are crucial to ensuring a sensible balance between local disruption to residents and businesses, compared to national benefit largely felt elsewhere.

The work of community development and representation comes in all shapes and sizes. The ‘Big Lunch’, organised by Gillian, for which we closed part of Carmunnock Road was a success. We have also helped local groups organise street play events.

Gillian has also taken on the important role of board member for Queens Park Arena, restoring – after a long interregnum - Mount Florida’s place among the nearby community councils that are responsible for the stewardship of the community resource.

We responded quickly to the alarm raised by residents who had heard of Mount Florida Bowling Club’s intention to close and sell to residential developers. Well-attended public meetings confirmed strong opposition to the privatisation of the grounds and club house which were gifted to the community by the landowner 110 years ago. Judith and I supported the establishment of Mount Florida Community Trust which aims to preserve the site and increase access for community use.

Our very long running project that aims to alleviate parking restrictions on Cathcart Road has made progress after a draft Traffic Regulation Order passed public consultation with only one minor adjustment requested by a bus operator. Our principle is that our streets are for us to use, and not to provide a high-speed highway into the city centre for out-of-towners.

Mark continues to represent us in the Community Planning Partnership and we look forward to the day it becomes more of a partnership and less of a one way information cascade.

Mark also took the lead in the innovative Battlefield street design project, highlighting potential unintended consequences for Mount Florida. That project which itself came out of the pressure that we applied, along with other community councils, for careful consideration around the redevelopment of the Vicky.

This year we welcomed a new member – Gillian Katungi – and said thank you and cheerio to Joan Perry. We also managed to hold some social events, something we community councillors too often deprioritise.

Looking forward to the year ahead, we would like to build stronger links with the primary school and hope to find constructive ways to spend some money that we have set aside for pedestrian safety projects.

A big focus in the next 8 months will be the Euro 2020 championships. Alex is pushing to ensure we are at the table when local plans are drawn up.

Colour will be brought to the area this winter with a Window Wanderland being organised by Nicola.

We always welcome new suggestions and we’ll look into ideas for investment in Queens Park Recs brought to us by Hannes, a local resident.

As always we encourage anybody who supports Mount Florida, and who has either an idea or a few hours available each month, to get in touch and find out how they can contribute.

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Press Release:

A community council in Glasgow’s southside has received a significant grant to plan a new civic space at the entrance to Hampden.

The Letherby Triangle project, led by Mount Florida Community Council, has been awarded £50,000 from Scottish Government via Sustrans’ Places for Everyone programme, to consult with local residents and develop a plan to transform a traffic island into a multi-use space, capable of hosting community events.

The Community Council, known as MoFloCoCo, has consulted with hundreds of local residents over the unused triangle to develop initial designs. This funding will allow MoFloCoCo to appoint specialists to develop the design for a civic space and improved road safety.

Chris Carus, Chair of MoFloCoCo Chair, said: “Thanks to Sustrans, local residents will be able to inform the plans for Letherby Triangle civic space. This area is sorely lacking space for our community to congregate and to spend time with one another. It has the potential to really improve Mount Florida and the wider southside with a valuable community resource, a city landmark and key civic space.

This transformation will also improve pedestrian safety, which is especially important as it is next to Mount Florida Primary School. It will make it easier for people to arrive at Hampden by walking or cycling, and it will create opportunities for community events. We hope everyone who lives in the area will get involved.

Dave Keane, Infrastructure Delivery Manager at Sustrans explained why the Letherby bid was awarded the funding: “This project is seeking to take an existing, underused greenspace which is cut off by the surrounding streets and put it to work for everyone in the local community. We look forward to seeing the proposals for a project seeking to create a place for everyone.”

Notes

1. The triangle is situated near Hampden Park, directly in front of Mount Florida Primary School and between two main roads (Cathcart Road and Carmunnock Road). The space is presently largely inaccessible because it is surrounded on all three sides by busy roads and parking. In addition, it is over-grown with trees and has not been maintained for public access. Click here for a Google Street View of the triangle.
2. You can read more about MoFloCoCo’s plans here: http://www.moflococo.org/current-projects-2/letherby-triangle-project/
3. Details of Sustrans work in Scotland is available here: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/about-us/our-work-in-scotland/

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We are pleased that many of our recommendations have been included in a draft traffic regulation order that was published for consultation by Glasgow City Council on Friday 12th July. GCC has also included its own proposals, mainly aimed at improving sightlines and pedestrian safety.

Comments or objections must be submitted by Friday 2nd August. Please share your opinion and feedback with us as well as with GCC.

You can read the full proposal on GCC's website. We have provided the notes below to make the proposals easier to understand. Please do not rely solely on these notes but also read the GCC draft TRO.

Mount Florida Community Council (MoFloCoCo) has worked closely with GCC over a period of years in developing the proposals. This included holding workshops and surveying local businesses as early as 2014.

The proposals comprise 3 parts:

1. Relaxation of parking/loading restrictions on Cathcart Road
2. Increased parking spaces on Bolton Drive, Clincart Road
3. Additional proposals made by GCC - mainly related to pedestrian safety.

1. Relaxation of Parking and Loading Restrictions on Cathcart Road

MoFloCoCo's proposals seek to make more parking available to shoppers and to residents.

Now: many long loading bays, restricted to goods vehicles.
Proposed: shorter loading bays, available to any vehicle.

Now: peak time clearways
Proposed: peak time clearway restrictions removed (Update 30th July: this has been confirmed)

Now: long bus bays.
Proposed: short pavement build outs giving better public transport access to Mount Florida and free up parking spaces.

No change:
- event day restrictions.
- loading bay outside Tesco restricted to goods vehicle only.

2. Increased parking spaces on Bolton Drive, Clincart Road

Several proposals are intended to make more space available for parking.

Now: The top (western end) of Bolton Drive is 'unofficially' treated as one-way by drivers, enabling diagonal parking. Two way traffic on Clincart Road. Diagonal parking only at northern end of Clincart.
Proposed: Clincart Road becomes one-way allowing 'diagonal' parking, creating more parking capacity.

Now: triangle traffic island on Bolton Drive serves little purpose.
Proposed: remove the triangle, and build-out the kerb, creating more parking space.

3. Additional proposals made by GCC

From GCC's report: "The Council are taking the opportunity to improve parking practices and road safety within the adjoining residential areas. This includes ensuring crossing points are accessible, sightlines at junctions are sufficient and generally parking practices are safe and not obstructive."

No waiting instructions are proposed at many junctions across Mount Florida and Kings Park west of Aikenhead Road. Example below.

Update 17 Jul: GCC Land Services confirmed these changes are in response to requests made by members of the public (in particular the markings on corners in Kings Park), and based on input made by Glasgow Housing Association for the area around the high flats.

Notes

Any person wishing to object to the proposed Order must submit this in writing to: Andy Waddell, Director of Operations, Neighbourhoods and Sustainability, Exchange House, 231 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RX or email land@glasgow.gov.uk and it must be received by Friday 2 August 2019.

In traffic jargon, 'Waiting' means parking but doesn't include stopping to load/unload. 'Loading' means stopping to load/unload goods or to allow passengers to board or alight. Reminder of the road markings: https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/road-markings.html

Consultation

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We're inviting residents of Mount Florida aged 16+ to put themselves forward to join the Community Council.

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Our latest newsletter is currently being delivery to over 2700 addresses around Mount Florida and west Kings Park. If you can't wait for your own paper copy to be delivered, you can find it online here.

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We draw residents' attention to the license variation submitted by The Beechwood to extend opening hours, and to allow the use of the licensed outdoor space on Hampden event days. Objections must be received by the council by 21st February.

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We have learnt from residents in the last few days that Mount Florida Bowling Club is facing an imminent threat of closure due to 'lack of members'.

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Measures to improve surface water drainage were given planning permission. The measures include 'rain gardens' on the roadside on Aikenhead Road and Kings Park Avenue.  See our previous post on this topic here. As of July 2018, it was anticipated that work would start January 2019.

Here we pass on answers to issues raised by MoFloCoCo, received from a GCC Development and Regeneration Services official in July 2018.

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MoFloCoCo collaborated with Caroline Downey, an Edinburgh University Masters student, on a research project. Caroline's dissertation looks at the different ways of measuring deprivation, and what the available data tells us about Mount Florida. You can read it here: SIMD and Beyond,

A printed copy of the dissertation has also been made available in Langside Library.

Get in touch if you'd like to know more: moflococo@gmail.com.

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Press Release:

A southside community project to create a new civic space, at the gateway to Hampden, has taken a big step forward thanks to securing two new pots of money.

The Letherby Triangle project, led by Mount Florida Community Council, has been awarded funds from the Big Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government, delivered through Sustrans’ Community Links programme.

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Press Release:

A letter signed by businesses in Mount Florida has underlined the hammer blow that would be dealt to local economy if the SFA decides to leave Hampden for Murrayfield.

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The SFA will soon hear presentations from the Hampden Park Limited and Scottish Rugby Union ahead of its decision whether to keep Scottish football at Hampden or move it to Murrayfield.  We understand that if the SFA leaves, the stadium will likely close as Queens Park would not be able to afford the upkeep.

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Information sent direct to ticket holders - a first for Hampden event management

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MoFloCoCo recently became of GCC's application for planning permission to build 'rain gardens' and a storm water storage basin on Aikenhead Road. The period for public responses has closed. We believe a great many people are still unaware of the plans so we want to share the information we have gathered. There is still time to provide input on details such as whether the rain gardens should be planted with trees or shrubs.

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We've been collecting feedback from residents about Hampden events since 2015 and we've used it with some success to campaign for improvements. Today we publish our short report on feedback received in 2017. We have asked Councllor Anna Richardson, who chairs the Langside Area Partnership, to take the report forward and hold the various agencies and council departments accountable for the requested improvements.

Thanks to our volunteers Beth and Kirstie who have prepared the report over the last couple of years.

As always we'd like to hear feedback about the action plan. Read it here (pdf, 2 pages).

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We have one vacant position on the Community Council. Whether you'd like act as an advocate for the area or just muck in and help out, please consider putting yourself forward. You need to be at least 16 years of age, live in the area (use this website to check) and be nominated by two other residents of the area. We have 10 meetings per year and you'd be expected to attend most of them.

For more information please call Chris Carus on 07852 856969, or email MoFloCoCo@gmail.com.

Please complete and return this nomination form.

Official notice.

 

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We were very sad to hear that Gordon Cumming passed away some months ago.

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Planning permission for the Victoria Infirmary should not be granted while there is no masterplan in place.

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Residents and businesses should have received a printed copy of our most recent newsletter in August. Here it in case you missed it.  Read it here.

We're recruiting new Community Councillors. Plus updates on Letherby Triangle; Hampden Neighbours Project; Traffic and Parking; and other local news.

 

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