LOCAL ACTION AGAINST THE CUTS.

  

      The rest of our fair city should be taking a leaf out of the North West Glasgow residents' book. The Maryhill area of the city has started to organise locally to defend their area against that savage attack that is about to be unleashed on them and the rest of the country. By organising locally and the local groups linking up to discuss tactics and strategies to protect their facilities and the future of the kids is the best way to meet this slash and burn policy being pushed by these public school thugs in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption.

SOLIDARITY.

By fleabite, submitted on IndymediaScotland 

      A group of residents in North West Glasgow have got together to fight the cuts and defend services locally. The first event was an anticuts conference which attracted 30 folks.  There were talks from activists from many diferent spheres, from those locally who'd occupied a primary school a few years back, to NHS campaigners, to a speaker from the ongoing anticuts student occupation at Glasgow University.  Most importantly we had many small table discussions.

      We are now having regular organising meetings and have begun mapping the area to get a clear picture of how the cuts will affect our local area and what we can do both to defend local services, but also fight all the cuts to public services and the welfare state.

WI DON'T NEED TAE TAKE THIS.

Our next event is a mapping workshop :

        Its open to everyone interested in being involved in organising against the cuts in North West Glasgow. At this workshop we will be continuing with the work we’ve already started by mapping the area: services, community groups etc that might be under threat. Key upcoming dates such as when the cuts are announced at a city level, when the national cuts will come into being. What community groups, activists etc we should be working with both locally and outwith the neighbourhood.

IT'S OOR FUTURE.

Wednesday 13th April.  7-9pm.  The Free Hetherington.  13 University Gardens.

http://maryhillanticuts.wordpress.com/

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GLASGOW'S COMMON GOOD FUND.

       Something every citizen in the country can get involved in, though this article is Glasgow specific, but other towns and cities across the country have similar groups of concerned citizens interested in preserving those Common Goods for what they were intend, the benefit of the those citizens. You have an obligation to your children and grandchildren to get involved.

It's oor stuff!!!

What is the Common Good Fund?

        Since Robert the Bruce through the Victorian era to Sir William Burrell, benefactors have bequeathed property and valuables to the people of Glasgow under a uniquely Scottish legal provision. The city council and its predecessors hold this in trust for citizens as Common Good assets. Or do they?

        The land and buildings from this fund should provide an income for the benefit of the community. In the 19th century Glasgow Corporation wisely invested the income in building Glasgow Tramways, later Glasgow Corporation Transport. The dividends meant that money flowed back to the Common Good Fund (CGF) to be used for community benefit. In other areas of Scotland citizens can still apply for money for community projects. But, not in Glasgow. Why?

       The fund which was valued at £9.9 million in 1921, equal to £350 million in today's money - stands now at £13.5 million. A lot of land and buildings which earned money for the Fund have  "disappeared". Examples are, Kelvin hall, Glasgow green, Peoples' palace plus other less distinguished but valuable property. The Council was instructed by the Scottish Executive in 2007 to compile an up-to-date register but refuses to do so claiming it will cost £4 million. Meanwhile there is some evidence that CGF assets have been sold illegally and the money diverted to Council coffers for the wrong purpose. Audit Scotland, the watchdog, seems unwilling to enforce Holyrood's edict. Pollok Park was restored to the CGF two years ago only after individual citizens objected. What can we do?

The Citizen Archivist Programme

      With the co-operation of Glasgow Archives, the Citizen Archivist programme will help address the problem of an inaccurate CG register by offering volunteer assistance to Glasgow City Council to correct the errors and affording legal protection to the assets.

Citizen Archivists will learn:

* How to use freedom of information legislation to list potential CG Assets in your area

* Practical advice on how to use archive material to establish the common good status of land and buildings

* How to present your findings to the Council to support a claim for restoration to the CG Register

     Holyrood estimates CG Assets throughout Scotland could amount to £1 billion so it is essential that Scotland's largest city accounts properly for its share and that the income generated is used only for the direct benefit of Glasgow's citizens.

What's involved? How do I sign up?

Start listing.

     We will organise training sessions at the Mitchell library followed by further group meetings. The results will be recorded on our website which will also contain a blog of your experiences and successes .

Interested ? Go to our website www.glasgowbelongstome.org and join the mailing list.

If you have time this Friday 18th march, come to the Pearce Institute

Common Cood Cay <http://www.citystrolls.com/z-f-page/res-2011.htm>

Email: info@GlasgowBelongsToMe.org Contact: Bill Fraser Tel: 07775 832 461
 

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CITIZENS UNITED - AGAINST THE CUTS.

CITIZENS UNITED

AGAINST CUTS TO PUBLIC SERVICES

WHO ARE WE - WE ARE YOU!

We are you. we are any group of citizens who get together and fight back against injustice, in this case the massive attack by this Con/Dem government on the welfare state and the working class.

WHAT WE BELIEVE.

We believe in "Direct Action" to get change. That we as citizens, are best plkaced to decide what kind of country WE live in. Real democracy is us, together,making ALL the decisions for ourselves, every day.

WHAT WE DO.

We "OCCUPY" to protest, to advocate a better way to highlight issues, to confront the institutions that have become more important than people. We encourage other citizens to consider this as a means of resistance in all communities.

WHAT WE WANT.

We want to see wide-spread "COMMUNITY RESISTANCE" across Scotland, to stop closures, protect services, fight poverty and inequality. Let's bring people together, to help each other, defend our communities!!!

JOIN US!

START YOUR OWN GROUP!

TOGETHER WE WIN!

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

HOW TO START YOUR OWN GROUP?

HOW TO DO "DIRECT ACTION"?

WHO'S NEAR YOU, WHAT'S HAPPENING LOCALLY?

Check us out at: http://citizensunitedagainstcuts.wordpress.com

Email us at: citizensunitedagainstcuts@gmail.com

Or phone: 07948 010959

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GLASGOW MAFIA STRIKE AGAIN.

Subject: North Kelvin Meadow.

       “Time is running out to save an award winning community green space in Glasgow’s West End from Developers”.

        North Kelvin Meadow, a well used and supported green-space in the heart of Glasgow’s West End is now the subject of a planning application to build 115 flats, which if successful, will mark the end of this well loved community initiative.

       The developer New City Vision Ltd (NCV) chosen by Glasgow City Council has now kicked off their drive to gain planning permission for their housing development by holding two public meetings allowing the community to comment on their design. However the fundamental question of whether any housing development is right for this green space will not be up for discussion (1). They expect their main planning application to go in by March 2011.

      Even after two and half years of hard work by the community, GCC have chosen “to carry on regardless with the sale process” and to bulldoze North Kelvin Meadow. They have never consulted with the local people about what should happen to this land. Local people have been looking after this land in the absence of any management by the Council. And this work has been recognized for two years in a row with an award from Beautiful Scotland. They have cleared dumped rubbish off the land, regularly pick up litter, run a community composting service, and have set up community allotments so that local residents can grow fruit and veg. This green space is in constant use by dog walkers, children, and others who appreciate it as a

wild park. They would like to extend their work to provide a permanent resource for the benefit of the whole community. The development by New City Vision will destroy this work and ensure there is one less public resource for the people of North Kelvinside.

     *Douglas Peacock Chairman North Kelvin Meadow Campaign:*

      “This planning application if successful will result in a Meadow and community Allotment being bulldozed, 100s of trees being cut down and a successful award winning community initiative ceasing. Thats not a great legacy to leave the next generation to say the least! This land has never been built on and always used for the local community and that should continue.”

     “Glasgow City Council are out of step on what people are looking for on this issue, this is backed up by the number of politicians voicing their support plus 1000 people to date have signed the petition, that and the overwhelming support from local people asking that this green space not be built on.”

      *SNP Depute Leader Nicola Sturgeon* has recently mentioned, in Dec 2010, the plight of North Kelvin Meadow: http://www.snp.org/node/17556

*Notes*

       1. A pre planning application was recently introduced by the Scottish Government to help communities, understand and get up to speed with what a developer is planning in their area prior to its main application for planning consent. This period last 12 weeks. North Kelvin Meadow is one of the first in Glasgow to be in this new process. Crucially though people aren’t being asked, and have *never* been officially asked, what they like to happen to this land. This pre planning consultation is mainly about what should happen to the small amount of open space which currently is shown as a small roundabout within the housing complex e.g. should it be grass, trees, seating, BBQ area, tarmac etc?

      2 *North Kelvin Meadow web site* http://www.northkelvinmeadow.com/ for further information email northkelvinmeadow@gmail.com  

     3. *Images for publication* available for download and use from  http://www.flickr.com/groups/northkelvinmeadow/
     4. *New City Vision Ltd* http://www.cloustonstreet.co.uk/
 
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Community Action.

    Extract from BBC, more here 

   " Parents at a closure-threatened primary school in North Lanarkshire have occupied the building and are refusing to leave. Four women are staging the sit-in at St Matthew’s Primary in Wishaw. They are angry at proposals by North Lanarkshire Council which could see the school shut, along with three others in the region. The council said education officials were going to St Matthew’s to in a bid to resolve the situation. The protesters told BBC Scotland they had sleeping bags and food and were determined to remain in the school. A public consultation on the school closures is due to end on Friday.

      Parents at the other threatened primaries – Belvidere in Bellshill, Gartsherrie in Coatbridge and St Francis of Assisi, Cumbernauld – have also staged protests, held meetings and arranged petitions in a bid to keep the schools open."
   Where possible support should be shown by turning up at the school to boost morale, donating food etc. and picketing council offices. The communities belong to the people who live there, not a bunch of town planners who live elsewhere.   

 

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