Spring 2012 newsletter (2MB)

Events often have unforseen consequences that ripple on.

In response to the unrest in the park following a facebook invite, Police units made their way to assist colleagues. Sadly, one of the Police vans collided with a taxi-driver, who died in hospital on Wednesday.

An investigation will be launched into the events surrounding the incident. Our thoughts are with the driver’s family.

BBC News – Taxi driver dies after police van crash near park party
Daily Record – Taxi driver dies 12 days after crash

May 2011 newsletter (6MB)

West End Festival Gibson Street Gala The Glasgow Show Glasgow Southside Festival North Glasgow International Festival World Pipe Band Championships Student Fresher Fair And more… Daniel Stewart will be looking after these events and any advertising enquiries. Advertising is available on the can crusher unit and or on the bike as you can see in the photo.

We also offer a static can crusher for corporate or community use. If you would like to know more please contact either:

Although the last development application for Otago Lane has been withdrawn, a new application has been submitted for a “smaller” development of only 49 dwellings. Rather sinisterly this is just one short of the number that would require community consultation, allowing the developer to rush the application through under the radar, with only 21 days for objections to be submitted. Furthermore, this new submission includes plans for a new square block of “town houses” (instead of the originally proposed round block with flats and shops) that would be of a similar scale to the previous design (albeit just 7 storeys now compared to the original design of 8 ) and could potentially be subdivided into flats at a later stage, adding significantly more dwellings. This new submission has also excluded the 40 flats from the existing Otago Street block, which was originally to be rebuilt, in an attempt to bring the number of dwellings down to beneath 50. See also this Evening Times article.

Future view of Otago Lane over the river

Otago Lane and the surrounding area has never been in more need of community support to help defeat this relentless developer that has tried every trick in the book to circumvent the concerns of the community in search of their fortune. As seen in other recent developments in the area that you can never trust the actual developments to contain the same high quality materials as shown in the original plans and we can’t see any reason why we should trust this particular developer.

The Save Otago Lane website has the following advice for those who wish to help out:

Write to Glasgow City Council asking for details on the new submission by Otago Street Developments Ltd. Andy.Dale@glasgow.gov.uk. The Council will validate these plans in the next few days. As soon as they do they will issue an application number. We will post this on the net. Then:

1. lobby for an extension of the response time for objections. Officially we are only allowed 3 weeks, but given the level of interest we believe this should be extended to two months.
2. Look at the information that will be posted on FB and the web on how to write an objection and make an objection – either by email or better by letter sent to DRS. If you already objected, this will no longer count.
3. Tell all your friends who might know Otago Lane and like it to object.
4. Sign the online petition which will be in operation from this Saturday.
5. Look out for events such as demonstrations and exhibitions of the new plans etc that you may want to take part in
6. contact otagolane@googlemail.com if you would like to volunteer to help out.

January 2011 newsletter (1.5MB)

It seems like the building works around the GOW community area have been endless these past couple of years. One particular long running saga has been that of the scaffolding in front of the Unite Building. The good news is that work here is now progressing and the end is in sight as John Stevenson, operations manager for UNITE Student Accommodation in Glasgow, explains:

Rationale

UNITE Gibson Street was completed in February 2009. Shortly after completion an assessment was carried out on the stone cladding at the front (Gibson Street) and side (riverside) elevations of the building whereby a fixing issue was highlighted. The stone ’squares’ that are visible were incorrectly attached to the external of the building causing obvious concern to the footfall on that side of the road.

Issues

During this process both the main contractor (Chard) and the sub-contractor (Exterior Systems) both went into administration. This then left the outstanding remedial works sitting with an administrative body (KPMG) appointed to manage the financial aspect of the process. Due to the fact that both the main contractor and the sub-contractor essentially went out of business at the same time, this meant that the process was extended even further. The timelines around this were from May 2009 to September 2010.

Remedials and timelines

The external works to the Gibson Street elevation started on Monday 25th October with a 5 week timeline. I am expecting the works to be complete and the scaffolding to be removed by the first week of December.

The works to the riverside elevation will commence the 2nd week of November with a completion date of the last week of January 2011. I expect that by the end of January all works will be complete and all traces of the issue will be gone from site.

The current scaffolding structure on the Gibson Street elevation has been subjected to attention from the local graffiti artists. This will be painted out on a weekly basis (each Monday morning) to ensure that whilst it is there, the structure is maintained to the best of our ability. The project management company that we have instructed will also be meeting on-site each week to ensure the terms of the works are being carried out as agreed.

Unfortunately due to the extensiveness of the works and also the quantity of material involved, it was felt necessary to apply for a temporary takeover of the car parking spaces on the Northern side of the bridge. The spaces will be closed off until the end of the perceived works (January 2011). This I can only apologise for, however, it will hopefully be seen as a short term pain for a long term gain as this access and storage will dramatically speed up the process for the contractors.

I am really keen to engage with the community on this as I feel that throughout the process this may have been an oversight.

If you have any questions or would like clarification regarding any of the above content then please feel free to contact me on the details below.

Thanks again.

John Stevenson Operations Manager The UNITE Group plc BUCHANAN VIEW, 35 Calgary Street Glasgow United Kingdom G4 0XG Mobile: 07506 703 086 John.Stevenson@unite-group.co.uk

www.unite-group.co.uk | www.unite-students.com

Update January 2011:

We are in the latter stages of the process now, with a finish date of 1st week in February (no trace on Gibson Street or the riverside).

We will be completing some tests on the back of the building into the 2nd week, but the cosmetics of the front will be back to normal.

The contractor has commited to a full clean up of the area and riverside once they leave.

I hope you agree that the look of the stone work has vastly improved, not everyones taste but miles apart from what it was.

John Stevenson
Operations Manager

This morning was all go in the backcourt and there has been a murder!

It was the noise of the magpies that made me look out. They were really raucous. I thought they were teasing the cat at first.

The victim was a pigeon as you can see in the picture below. Though it is not a very good picture – the zoom was on max.

The sparrowhawk had moved further away already when I tried at first and then after I got this picture it left GOW with the noisy magpies in pursuit. It looked regal taking off carrying away the limp body in the end but no chance of a photo of that!

September 2010 newsletter (2MB)