Shettleston candidates call for community centre to be reopened

Conservative councillor and candidate Thomas Kerr says the charity organisation needs to address the situation sooner rather than later to stop teenagers drinking outdoors in parks and in the city centre.

And Labour councillor and candidate Frank McAveety says he is keen to find a solution to put the centre into the ownership of community groups which would see the building re-opened sooner rather than later.

The Shettleston Community Centre, which is run by Glasgow Life, closed during the covid-19 pandemic and has been unable to reopen to the public due to “significant financial difficulties”.

Councillor Thomas Kerr said: “We need to do something to address this issue as soon as possible because young people don’t have anywhere to go or anything to do other than hang around streets and public parks.

“Another big thing we are finding is a lot of young people are going into the city centre late at night which means they are unsafe as they are not at home but it also means the centre is not looking at its best because of their drinking, swearing and smashing bottles.

“We need to tackle this form of anti-social behaviour. The only way you do that is by opening up the community centres and encouraging more groups to use them. The pandemic has been horrendous for young people as they have had nowhere to go.”

The Labour group says it has been actively working to ensure the council fulfils the motions previously agreed at full council meetings to reopen all the community centres and that Glasgow Life should be given the support and resources they need to do so.

Councillor Frank McAveety said: “At a local level, the Shettleston community centre has been under the threat of closure. I know there are a number of organisations who would like to utilise the building if it ended up not being used by Glasgow Life.

“I am keen to try and find a solution for the centres as they are but if there are no other options, community groups or local church organisations get a chance to take them over to make sure they are still used.”

Glasgow Life has confirmed that discussions are now taking place with the City Council regarding the transfer of ownership of some buildings.

A spokesperson said: “Glasgow Life has been unable to reopen Shettleston Community Centre to the public due to the significant financial challenges imposed on us by the pandemic.

“However, Glasgow City Council’s 2022/23 budget has allocated £1.1m funding to support the reopening of more community centres and other local venues across the city this financial year. This is positive and welcome news for Glasgow Life and represents a significant commitment to ensuring the people of Glasgow can continue to access our much-needed and highly valued services and venues in their local communities.

“Discussions are now taking place with Glasgow City Council regarding the process for consulting with local communities and taking a prioritised approach to the planning and timescale for reopening additional community venues.

“Any decision regarding the reopening of more venues will be made at the appropriate Council committee following the local government elections in May and we will share further information about this publicly as soon as we’re able to.”

Glasgow City Council was also approached for comment.

The candidates standing for election in the Shettleston Ward are as follows:

Julie Ann Christie – Scottish Greens

Laura Docherty – SNP

Thomas Kerr – Scottish Conservatives

Frank McAveety -Scottish Labour

Liam McLauchlan – Scottish Socialist Party

Jill Pidgeon – Glasgow Labour

Henry Sullivan – Scottish Liberal Democrats

David Turner – SNP