Bungo in the Back Lanes will finally be returning to Strathbungo after a 2 year hiatus, circumstances permitting.
This year it will be Saturday 18th June, 1-5pm. Watch the event pages for more details as they appear, or get in touch if you want to help out, volunteer, or run a stall.
The latest newsletter has arrived. If it hasn’t made it through your door already, you can
Thanks to our editor, Sandra Nimako-Boatey. If you want to write something for the newsletter, get in touch.
You can also find the newsletter, and old ones back to the 1990s, at the BygoneBungo Newsletter Archive.
The Arnold Clark showroom has been a prominent feature in Strathbungo for a century, sitting on the corner of Pollokshaws Road and Nithsdale Drive. It was built as The Queens Garage in the 1920s, and it has operated as a motor showroom ever since. Although the building looks a modern replacement, it is actually the original building with a new fascia.
However the showroom has now closed, and the land earmarked for housing. Today the first proposal for the site has been released by South Side Housing Association and Keppie Design, and they are looking for your comments. Note that while this is just an initial proposal, they hope to lodge their planning application in March or April.
You have a brief opportunity to discuss at this stage. Feel free to discuss on the Keppie Design web site, on here, on social media, or email chair@strathbungo.co.uk if you would rather the Society reflect your views anonymously.
The consultation dates are as follows:
Their sketch above is based off Google Streetview, so here is a more realistic rendition of what is to come, and what it replaces.
Artist’s rendition, superimposed on Google Streetview
The Queens Garage
The Arnold Clark showroom
There’s a proposal gone in for the other part of Arnold Clarks on Nithsdale Drive today, beside the railway line. Not much detail:
Having reported last month about the council’s fund to refurbish private lanes, the Society have waited for the release of the details of the conditions and the regulations governing the Fund detailing who can apply and specifics of what funds can be used for. The good news is that details were finally released last Thursday. The bad news is that we have until 11 March to make an application. So we have less than a month to take things forward. This short timetable takes us to just before the local government elections, but presents a major hurdle to preparation of detailed proposals that will make a real difference in our community and that have had scrutiny by the local community.
Our original plan had been to organise to make a bid for each lane, forming sub groups around the individual lanes. That would have enabled individual solutions tailored to meet the needs of the different problems in different areas of Strathbungo. However given that the Council’s rules state that applications need to come from not-for-profit, legally constituted democratic groups with independent bank accounts, the time scales now make that impossible, given that processes for setting up individual groups is both time consuming and and subject to timescales imposed by the authorities who oversee those processes. The Society however is already such a group and can make an application covering the whole Strathbungo area.
The maximum bid to be considered is £20,000. Having examined the criteria that the Council see as being relevant for funding applications, the following would apply as problems common to our lanes:
Looking at the Strathbungo area, we know what the problems are but lack the expertise at this stage to specify solutions or to cost them. For example, drainage and pot holes are a common issue but dealing with them to ensure that we apply sustainable solutions that will last will require a full survey of the lanes. This should provide a costing of repairs and refurbishment. Given that there are promises on the table that the fund will continue going forward, that would allow future bids to be realistically prepared.
The Council also specify that there must be an element of ongoing future management attached to plans. In Strathbungo, we have a history of engagement in the environment, with regular Brighter Bungo clear ups taking place throughout the year. Pre-covid, those activities took place with cover from the council’s Public Liability Insurance. Unfortunately that cover has now been withdrawn. The Society believes that we should apply for money to cover the cost of Public Liability, enabling us to continue to have regular community clear-up days with the safety of volunteers in mind.
In addition, we would like to identify some immediate short projects that could be part of any bid to enhance the amenity of the lanes. Any suggestions should be addressed to treasurer@strathbungo.co.uk. To be included in the bid, they are needed by the end of this month, February, and where possible have some indication of likely costs.
The Society is committed to engaging as many local residents as possible in this process and will be holding a public meeting as well as ensuring that all residents are aware of the project.
Jane Carolan
Chair
Strathbungo Society
The Boundary Commission for Scotland began its 2023 Review of UK Parliament constituencies in Scotland in January 2021 and published its initial proposals in October 2021. These were open for comment for two months. One proposal directly affects Strathbungo, proposing to redraw the boundary through the middle of the Squares. In their map below, the red lines show their proposed boundary, while the blue represents the existing boundary.
You can find the details at https://www.bcs2023review.com/ – just put in your postcode to go to the relevant part of the map. You will need to use “Boundaries” tab to select the layers you want to see, e.g. old boundaries and constituency names.
The Commission is now inviting further comments (you can comment on the previous comments, for example) and is holding public meetings in its second consultation, which runs to 23rd March 2022.
You can see the previous comments made here (use the search term “strathbungo” to find the 9 comments made) and add to them. You can attend a public meeting and ask to speak. The Glasgow meeting is at Doubletree by Hilton, 36 Cambridge Street, Glasgow G2 3HN on 23rd February 2022. Their press release says:
“Each hearing will begin at 10am and include three sessions depending on demand. These sessions will run from 10am – 12pm, 2pm – 4pm and 6pm – 8pm.
The public are asked to email bcs@scottishboundaries.gov.uk to book a speaking slot. Please note that the Commission cannot guarantee you a speaking slot at your preferred time and you may be asked to choose a different slot or submit your representation in writing.”
If you would like to add your voice to views on the splitting of the ‘Bungo, do please contribute comments or book a slot at one of the hearings.
You might have noticed the consultation on the neighbouring Langside, Battlefield, Mount Florida, King’s Park & Toryglen Liveable Neighbourhoods. This year it is likely to be the turn of Strathbungo and Shawlands to be consulted in this way as the Glasgow City Council works its way across the city. This is a key opportunity to tell the council what the current problems are and what our hopes and dreams for the future of Strathbungo and the surrounding area are.
If we submit our best ideas, some of them might get funded and there is also the possibility that this consultation could lead to a Local Place Plan. This would give the agreed hopes and dreams of residents the full force of planning law and so bring them about through future developments.
While this consultation is still unconfirmed and months away, the time to get thinking is now. What do you want fixed? What do you want to change? What do you want to keep? How can we build an even better Strathbungo?
The Strathbungo Society is delighted to learn that that the City Council has made funding available for improvements to privately-owned lanes such as those here in Strathbungo. The Private Lanes Fund will have a total of £700,000 over 4 funding rounds, starting this year.
Over several years, the state of the local lanes has been a cause for concern. During the recent pandemic, they have seen an increase in footfall as pedestrians have used them in preference to our streets, where the constant traffic can make foot travel dangerous. They are also the primary route for the rubbish collection. However, there are problems with them. Many have problems with drainage, with large pools of water making them all but impassable after a few days’ rain (and this is Scotland where a few days’ rain is normal!). Along others, the surface can be very irregular and walking requires a high degree of vigilance.
Previous attempts at repairs have floundered over the level of costs involved. But a dedicated fund could provide us with possible investment in one of our community resources. The Toolkit (available on the Council website) places emphasis not just on surfaces but on protecting biodiversity and encouraging active travel, walking, jogging and cycling. How could our lanes be made safer in those circumstances for such travellers?
We are advised that detailed guidelines on the fund will be available shortly but being prepared to take early advantage of the fund could stand us in good stead. We’d like to start planning now.
The Council has suggested to us that the best approach may be to have application on a lane-by-lane basis rather that making one application covering all lanes. So we are looking to form groups around each lane to take forward making grant applications. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact chair@strathbungo.co.uk
Network Rail have provided details of the major bridge works planned for 2022-23 at Nithsdale Road, including demolition of the old Station building, replacement of the bridge, and subsequent replacement of the footbridge.
You are invited to take part with an engagement exercise with Network Rail. This will be online, and you need to book a slot. Exactly what form this will take isn’t clear to us yet.
The Society emailed Network Rail with some of our concerns late last year after the AGM, but have not had a reply. Some of the issues are discussed in a previous blog post.
Access to the consultation is here:
There is a timetable of road closures, etc, and more information in the letters circulated to residents.
Our stretch of Nithsdale Road is a mess.
Come along to a community meeting to discuss options for keeping the street cleaner.
Saturday 22nd January 2022, 11-11.30am, outside on street at the Pollokshaws Road end of Nithsdale Road. If the weather is bad, it’ll be at The Deep End instead.
Note this is a locally organised meeting, and not a Strathbungo Society event, though the Society will continue to help where it can.
In April gas bills are likely to rise 50% due to the high price of gas. Most gas boilers in Strathbungo will be condensing combi boilers which should operate at 93% efficiency but almost all of them will be incorrectly installed such that they only operate at 83% efficiency. Loco Home Retrofit have published a video from their information event which explored why this is the case and how this can be fixed to gain that 10% in efficiency and hence save 15% off April’s increased bills. Watch on Vimeo or Twitter.
In summary: Condensing boilers should be installed with a flow temperature of less than 50C to the radiators so that all the steam from the boiler condenses and releases the heat into the radiator water rather than the outside air. Almost all are installed with much higher flow temperatures of up to 70℃ as that is what the previous generation (15 years ago) of non-condensing boilers did. You can try turning down the flow temperature (and so improve efficiency) and see whether your home stays warm enough. You might need to turn it up again on colder days. Getting an OpenTherm standard compatible thermostat connected to the boiler’s communication bus (rather than a standard thermostat connected to the on/off switch, most thermostats are installed incorrectly!) can automate this (on compatible boilers), and with other tricks, save even more money.
If you are limiting your heating usage by having the boiler turn on and off at set times to save money you may find that turning down the flow temperature and leaving it on more of the time can maintain the same level of (dis)comfort at a further reduced cost.
There are a lot more important details and caveats described very accessibly in the video so it is well worth watching if the above sounds interesting.
Loco Home Retrofit will be grateful for your feedback on the presentation to help improve and to support future funding applications.
Strathbungo residents may also be interested in Loco Home Retrofit’s event “Tenement flat case study: superior comfort and low bills” on Wed, 12 January 2022
19:00 – 20:00 Registration
Disclaimer: some members of the Strathbungo Eco Group are also members or directors of Loco Home Retrofit and we hope to continue working with Loco Home Retrofit to achieve transformational improvement in heating in Strathbungo.
More on the Loco Home co-operative here.
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