I love community noticeboards.
It’s a standing joke in my family that whenever we go somewhere new and spot a noticeboard, usually outside a library or town hall, I will be hopelessly drawn to it. Inevitably I’ll loiter for ages, happily perusing the latest community council minutes, adverts for yoga classes and heartfelt pleas for the return of missing cats.
Like all community councils, Cathcart, Merrylee and Muirend faithfully pins up the minutes of our meetings in the local library every month. But I am aware that not everyone feels as I do about noticeboards, and it’s just possible that you’re not all jostling round the Couper’s pinboard to digest our latest discussions.
So I thought I’d start doing a blog after each of our meetings, to tell you about what we’re up to in a hopefully more accessible way. Last Wednesday, we met as usual in Cathcart Baptist Church and were joined by some residents via Zoom. Apparently we are unusual as a community council in offering hybrid participation in our meetings, but we think it’s really important: people with caring responsibilities or who can’t leave the house for other reasons should have just as much say in our community as anyone else.
Anyway, what did we discuss? Well, a hot topic is getting a new pitch for Merrylee Primary. This came out as the top priority in our last community consultation, and working alongside the school, local councillors and the Parent Council, we’re making great progress. We’ve asked for £50k of the £100k Neighbourhood Infrastructure Investment Funding for our area to be put towards this (we hope the other £50k can go towards improving Merrylee Park), and we believe the remaining cost could come from what’s called ENV2 funding: that’s money provided by building developers when new homes are built in the area. Glasgow City Council is actively working to confirm the final costs of a new pitch, so we are keeping everything crossed that this will proceed soon.
We also talked about the Couper Institute – another top priority for our community. We’ve submitted a bid to improve the exterior of the Couper – we’d love to landscape the area outside and make it a pleasant area to sit. We have formed a working group with our councillors to try to get the Council to let us fundraise for the building itself – you might know the kitchens are out of commission and the roof is damaged. And we’re also waiting to hear more about a possible proposal from Reconnect Theatres, to create a community theatre in the Couper – we’re tentatively hopeful that this might be a good move, but there’s lots more to find out and nothing is definite at this point.
And we were joined by officers from the local police force, who try to come to all our meetings. We asked for an update on shoplifting at Sainsbury’s, traffic-light jumping at Rhannan Road and also Old Castle Road, and they have committed to come back to us on these issues.
I could go on for ages – it’s incredible how much we pack into a two-hour meeting – but hopefully that gives a sense of what we’re up to. You can read my full Chair’s Report if you’re so inclined, and keep an eye on our website, where we’ll post the meeting minutes once they’re approved. Or you could read them in the library 🙂
Cathcart, Merrylee and Muirend Community Council meets on the second Wednesday of each month, from 7-9pm at Cathcart Baptist Church or online via Zoom. (We don’t meet in April, July, August or December). Email cmmcommcouncil@gmail.com if you’d like to find out more.
