As you know, we have formal planning approval for the community hub building as issued by Glasgow City Council in 2017. We must proceed now to the next step i.e. to meet the “Reserved Matters” as specified in the City’s approval notification. Drawings are now being prepared by our architect to meet these reserved matters to the satisfaction of the City and, at the same time, the same drawings will form part of our submission for a Building Warrant to allow us to build the project. Having already consulted with some groups, we now have some useful and interesting ideas about how this building might be used in the future. However, we would like to engage with more people to think about what the community will use it for? Accordingly: –
1. The available space would be roughly the equivalent size of a primary school classroom for 30 children i.e. 780 square feet (28sq ft X 28sq ft) or circa 26 square feet per child. To help you a wee bit with this to gauge size, 26 square feet is roughly 1.6 metres X 1.6 metres. A large, well proportioned living room would be roughly 360 square feet to give you yet another measure.
2. Facilities already planned for included toilet for wheel chair users with nappy changing facilities, a standard toilet, a small kitchenette with storage, refrigerator, coat hooks, wall cupboards, a blackboard wall, etc. To allow ease of access for prams and wheel chair users there are gentle ramp approaches to the facility’s entrances.
3. The building would utilise, wherever possible, sustainable recyclable building materials and generate its modest power requirements from all available and affordable natural resources e.g. air pumps or ground source heat pumps or solar panels. It is also hoped to use a form of reed bed to recycle waste products. These measures really go without saying as it is the clear intention of the committee to make the smallest workable footprint on both the site as well as minimise any impact on the Wood and environment as far as our finances will allow. Economically as well as environmentally, all of these proposed measures make sense and dove tail with the mission for safeguarding the Meadow which is, quite possibly, a first for Scotland.
Please consider the following questions and your responses will be most welcome. The deadline for responses is Friday, 16th August at midnight.