Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Victory for Community in Milton, Glasgow

An eight year long campaign to save the St. Augustine's football pitches
in Milton, Glasgow has finally triumphed, with a £2.4m investment in
community facilities.Glasgow City Council's Policy and Resources Committee is expected to
approve plans for new changing rooms, community centre, and library at
13:00 today Tuesday 18th April. Refurbished football pitches and new rugby
pitches are also planned for the site.

That should mark an end to Council attempts to sell the entire site for
private housing development, first halted by a public local planning
inquiry.

John MacLean of the local save our pitches group said that he was driven
to start the campaign 8 years ago when his young son watched in horror as
workmen sawed down the set of goalposts opposite his house. Along with the
goalposts, the secondary school, swimming pool, and changing rooms were
demolished in a single weekend to pre-empt any occupation of those
facilities.

He said campaigners were not declaring final victory until they see the
full details and timetable, but that the announcement was a vindication of
the hard work of all the local campaigners, and especially of Joe Kerr,
Charlie Traynor, and Alex O'Kane

The swimming pool demolished in 1998 will remain as an outstanding issue.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5051107.html
http://libcom.org/news/article.php/commonwealth-games-glasgow-250306