New Evening Times Article

Sorry you will have to copy the link:
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/
news/display.var.2509267.0.
firm_donates_greenhouse_to_
vandalhit_allotments.php

Evening Times

We made front page news on Tuesday 5 May in the Evening Times. The readers comments are very interesting too.

I hope this link works (it may be time limited)

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.2506121.0.0.php

Green Allotments Not Green Deserts

terrible situation for you - good luck with campaign

thought this might be of interest

ironic ? green deserts not green allotments

please add me to any mailing lists and keep me posted

many thanks

cassandra

from

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/Archives/2008/October/temporary+parks+on+vacant+sites.htm

Thursday 30 October 2008

Glasgow considers plan to install temporary parks on vacant sites

A motion by Bailie Dr Nina Baker, (nina.baker@councillors.glasgow.gov.uk ) supported by Councillor Philip Braat, to provide short term public green space on vacant development sites in Glasgow was passed at today's (30 October) Glasgow City Council meeting.

The global financial situation has put a small number of developments in Glasgow on hold, and Bailie Baker’s motion proposed that the Council works with site and property owners, to lay grass on vacant ground to provide short term public green space on the sites until development conditions improve.


Bailie Baker said: “Although there is a substantial amount of new development activity underway in the city, it is recognised that the current financial downturn will put a number of planned projects on temporary hold. This is regrettable, but entirely understandable given current market conditions.


Some developments will be delayed, undeveloped sites will be fenced off and buildings awaiting redevelopment lie empty until market conditions improve. In the meantime, it is important that Glasgow presents a good environment to residents, visitors and potential investors.

“The Council’s City Plan 2 encourages the use of vacant and derelict land as temporary greenspace. I am delighted that the Council has resolved to work with site and property owners to temporarily landscape vacant sites to create simple and well-maintained grassed areas that will be open to the public, and also to use empty buildings’ windows for displays of Glasgow’s commercial, innovation, art and design capabilities.”


Councillor Philip Braat, one of Bailie Baker's co-councillors in the Anderston / City multi-member ward, supported the motion at the Council meeting. This was agreed to be a practical workable solution and a number of potential sites in the city have been identified.


Councillor Philip Braat said: "While Glasgow is well-placed to resist the worst of the global credit situation, it must be recognised that nowhere will be immune to its effects. This motion will help improve our city environment and will also encourage empty buildings to make suitable window space available to our universities and colleges to display student work and research projects. We should be clear that these green spaces will be short term in nature, and will be redeveloped as market conditions improve."

Some Responses

Re: Save Our Allotments By Anonymous, submitted on Wed, 29/04/2009 - 18:51 Bloody hell. Good luck in your fight against these cynical gangsters, I'll certainly be writing to my local councillors and helping if I can. Have you tried publicizing the vandalism, thefts and fires to the newspapers? People can put two and two together, and negative press has some chance of influencing the council.. The Evening Times has been quite good for publicising the NK Meadow project. I know the media are a shower of bastards, but if you can give them an angle of "community group vs. greedy developers" on a single issue like this, they can be useful. Re: Save Our Allotments By Martin O'Neill, submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 29/04/2009 - 19:13 Thanks for the support. We have started trying to publicize things with the South Side News. We will evetually go to the Evening Times, but they tend to act as the press department of the council on such matters as the M74 extension. They have also been publishing the positive spin about the council giving the property developers £3 million, during the downturn in the housing market, to re-route a road around their new houses. That's 3 million that could have saved the primary schools and nurseries threatened with closure by the council. What is the NK Meadow Project? » Re: Save Our Allotments By anonymusty, submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 30/04/2009 - 19:29 you should install your own hidden cameras. it worked for a friend of mine whose shed was getting robbed on a weekly basis. good luck, don't let the bastards win! Re: Save Our Allotments By Anonymous, submitted on Sat, 02/05/2009 - 15:53 This is the project I was referring to http://northkelvinmeadow.com/ I'm horrified I didn't know anything about this till now. Sincerely Grace Franklin Editor LOCAL NEWS SOUTH

May on the plot

We've had a busy holiday weekend and despite the forecast the weather has been good. Finally, got the potatoes in the ground and planted carrots yesterday too but that was after Robert finished his frame which had to be built, painted and covered in net curtains.....! I should have taken a picture.

Today, I planted beetroot, parsnips and turnip. Robert transplanted the broccoli and cauliflower. And, yes you've guessed it! He has a contraption to go with those too. He has stapled some netting to wood to protect the plants from the pigeons. We have also used old video tape to flap about in the wind (I would rather have a scarecrow). The video tape works quite well but you find it everywhere when it blows off or at the end of the season when you are dismantling it all.

Save Our Allotments

The Oatlands Leisure Gardens have been in their current site, Elmfoot Street in the Gorbals Glasgow, since the late 1980s. Funding was received from the EU and Land and Environmental Services set up two school plots with disabled access, raised beds and a polytunnel. These two plots were allocated to Richmond Park Primary in the Oatlands area.

The gardens have been very successful and have been enjoyed by local residents for many years. However, more recently an agreement was made between Glasgow City Council Department of Regeneration Services and Gladedale Property Developers for a 99 year lease on the land for regeneration. As part of the agreement, the allotments were to be moved to a smaller site adjoining Richmond Park School reducing the number of plots from 20 to 14. This could result in the eviction of several individual plot holders and community group plots rented by Blackfriars Primary, the Simon Community, Oatlands Residents Association, the Transition Group and the Carr-Gorm Group. This is at a time when waiting lists for plots in Glasgow can range from 2 to 8 years.

Last February, the allotment site suffered major damage due to the storms and heavy rain which fell. However, everyone rallied round and carried out repairs on the greenhouses and everything was back on track by the Spring. Unfortunately, at this time a spate of vandalism started and huts were being burned on a weekly basis. On Sunday 8th June the metal storage area for tools and the clubhouse were razed to the ground. By this time, the fire brigade had been called out on five separate occasions and it was obvious that the vandalism was not being carried out by kids. Before the fire, boltcutters had been used to cut the fencing and large industrial tools such as a rotovator and a chainsaw had been stolen. This would have required transport for these tools to be removed. The fire had taken hold very quickly so that the fire brigade were too late to save the clubhouse and it was likely that petrol had been used.

By July, there was not a pain of glass left in any of the greenhouses, five sheds have been razed to the ground, the storage area and clubhouse burnt out, everyone had lost their tools and the polytunnel was ripped apart.

In August the allotment secretary attended the Glasgow Allotment Forum meeting and asked for their help in tackling the problems at Oatlands. GAF agreed to help and a meeting was arranged with Ron Smith, Department of Regeneration Services, Robert Watson and Andy Worrall, Environmental and Land Services, Baillie James Scanlon, Baillie Jahangir Hanif, Councillor Danny Alderslowe, Judy Wilkinson, Secretary of GAF and Ian Baird, Gladedale along with representatives of Oatlands. Unfortunately, Ian Baird did not attend. A further meeting was held at Oatlands which Ian Baird did attend. Future meetings were held on 10 December in Councillor Alderslowe’s office and on 16 December with Steve Inch, the Executive Director of the Department of Regeneration.

As a result of these meetings it was agreed that CCTV would be provided for Oatlands and monitored by Glasgow Council and a new fence would be erected by Gladedale/Land Services and reimbursed to Gladedale on the move to the new site. However after the recent removal of the CCTV, without the plotholders being consulted, there has been more fires, more vandalism and threats to plotholders

The move to the new site has been delayed due to the downturn in the housing market and no definite date has been set, but the gardens remain under threat of vandalism and eviction. The new site should be in addition to the original site to meet the local demand and reduce waiting lists.

Updates on the gardens will be posted on our website: http://www.oatlandsleisuregardens6.blogspot.com