Another public space to become a private shopping mall.
To all our amazing supporters,
You will have probably heard, through social media and local news coverage, that Glasgow City Council voted in favour of demolishing the steps at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 11 votes - 4 votes.
This also means that the Donald Dewar statue will be moved further down Buchanan Street, just outside the Sainsburys on Cathedral Street / Bath Street.
Our team are inevitably gutted with the decision, with a demonstration of more than 100 people, over 2,000 individual objection letters and emails, 15,000 signatures (and rising) showing how unpopular their plans are for this valued public space.
The appalling attitude of the council is clear in this radio interview, where councillor Liz Cameron dismisses our huge petition as unimportant compared to the Council's long-term plans. You can also hear our fabulous campaigner Aileen McKay expressing the outrage we all feel at the decision the council have taken. Thanks to Clyde 1 for giving us the air-time to get our point across - the BBC didn't even bother to contact us!
We'd like to thank you for your ongoing support in signing the petition, the letters you sent to your local councillors and those who attended the demonstration on the 15th February. We could not have raised the awareness that we did or got as much media coverage.
However, this is NOT the end of our campaign as we wish to continue to raise awareness of the Council's plans and the privatisation of public spaces within Glasgow city centre.
Some folks, out-with of our team, have organised an “Occupy The Buchanan Street Steps” event, this Saturday 28th February at 12pm.
Details can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/896701807057841
Following on from the protest on the 15th February, it'd be good if supporters could turn up with “Hands off our public space” styled banners, placards, flags etc. Be creative!
Demolition is not due for some time yet, so we still have an opportunity to show our opposition to the plans.
Please continue to sign and share the online petition where you can and tell your friends and family.
Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you on Saturday afternoon.
Save the Steps Team
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-steps
