On Tuesday 20th October, 11am, Glasgow City Council’s planning committee will be meeting to discuss and possible determine both our plan’to keep the meadow and wood wild and for the community’ and the New City Vision plan ‘to build 90 residences on North Kelvin Meadow and The Children’s Wood’. We have organised buses to take people to and from George Square (leaving Kelbourne Street at 10:15 and returning to the meadow and wood after the committee meeting – see below for more info) WEAR GREEN and MAKE A PLACARD.
The planning authority has recommended that both applications be granted, subject to meeting certain conditions. It will be up to the planning committee what they decide to do with the recommendations, on Tuesday.
We hope that the planning committee accept the planning officers recommendation to accept our plan to ‘keep the land for the community and wild’. We hope that before any decision is made on the New City Vision plan to build high end housing that the planning committee grant a site visit, this will allow councillors to see the land and how valuable it is to different people and groups. We also hope that the planning committee grant us a hearing before any decision is made on the New City Vision plan. If they do grant us a hearing then the process will be delayed; the planning authority will have to notify almost 1,000 people who made representations to the New City Vision plan.
The planning authority can grant two applications for the same piece of land, however without landowners permission it means nothing, so this would be the next step for us if we are successful with our application. North Kelvin Meadow and The Children’s Wood has become an essential part of the community, helping to meet 21st century educational and community needs like tackling low levels of child-well-being, the achievement gap, food poverty, mental and physical health problems and much more. If we take away the meadow and wood then the impact will be enormous on the wider community. We have plans to do more for the community and build on what we have achieved already and we could do so much more with support from the administration of Glasgow City Council.
Because we will not have an opportunity to speak at the hearing on Tuesday we’re asking people to make placards requesting a site visit and a hearing and to show the level of support and engagement for the land and what happens on it.We will be making placards asking the planning committee to reject the New City Vision plan for posh housing, or at least grant us a site visit and a hearing. Please join us and make your own banner.
We’re asking people to dress in green for the gathering, we’ll meet outside the City Chambers at 10:45. Not everyone will fit into the meeting in the City Chambers so those of us who can’t fit in will stay outside the City Chambers.
Our application is first on the agenda, starting at 11am, we have no idea how long the meeting will take – it could be 10 minutes or an hour. So you may want to be prepared. Buses will take people back to the meadow and wood after the meeting
See you on Tuesday.
Thanks
The Children’s Wood committee