Parkhead Library

I've been keeping an eye on the renovations to Parkhead Library. When the library closed on the 11th of April, it was due to be closed for twenty weeks. 

I contacted Glasgow Life last week to see if they had a date for re-opening, but sadly it'll now be the week beginning the 3rd of October before the library is open to the public again. 

According to Glasgow Life:

"the 20 week completion date was an initial 

estimate by City Building who are undertaking the works. However, there has been significant 

reinstatement work required to the ceiling which wasn't anticipated at the outset. This has 

meant that specialist plasterwork has had to be undertaken, which unfortunately has 

resulted in a slightly longer timescale for the re-opening of the library."

I'm quite disappointed by this, as I know lots of people use the library not only for reading, but 

for accessing computers, participating in classes, and just meeting people. I'll continue to 

monitor the situation and will update on here if I get more info!

Happy Anniversary to Calton Parkhead Church!

I attended a special service at the Calton Parkhead Church on Sunday afternoon to celebrate it's 75th anniversary. It was lovely to hear a bit of the history of the Church - from the Minister who divorced his suffragette wife to the more recent fireworks at an ordination. I've since found more fascinating information here.

After the event, there was an opportunity to look through the archives - photos of smartly dressed BBs, mischievous school children, dedicated parishioners, weddings and baptisms. I would really have liked longer to pore over all those lives lived! Alexander has been quite poorly with a bad cold, so I couldn't stay long; it was weird to be there without him.

I also learned from the Headteacher at Dalmarnock Primary that, despite last week's weather, every member of her staff team had made it in to work, including a supply teacher who was only in one day. Another member of staff came in voluntarily to help 'just in case'. I don't know how the staff managed yesterday, but their efforts and dedication should certainly be commended.

Fire!

I've blogged before on various matters relating to Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, and was recently switched from being a substitute member of the Fire and Rescue Board to being a 'fishel member. I enjoyed participating in the meetings I attended as a sub, so I was happy to take the opportunity when it arose.

I went with a couple of Fire Board members to visit the site of the new training centre at Clydesmill Industrial Estate the other week, and was impressed by the scale of the development. The training centre should be a great asset to SFR (and hopefully wider!), and I hope it will be a success. The facilities aims to be as realistic as possible to give firefighters the best possible training. There will also be an academic block to allow for seminars and conferences.

It's a large site, and will also house the merged Cambuslang-Parkhead station. I noticed on the visit that you can actually see the current Cambuslang station from the site - obviously Parkhead is a wee bit further away. Hmm. One of the Councillors on the trip seemed to be trying to bait me on the issue. I accept the Fire Board voted against retaining Parkhead, but that doesn't mean I concede the argument.


On a much happier note, I visited North East Area Headquarters in the Calton and got to see the award winning Firereach programme in action. This aims to break down barriers between young people and fire fighters, allowing them to learn about the dangers of fire while having a bit of fun training with fire crews. It started in Easterhouse as a means to deal with fire hydrant vandalism and anti-social behaviour, and has snowballed due to the hard work of some very dedicated firefighters.

When I visited on Friday, third year pupils from St Mungo's were taking part in fire hose drills and fire and rescue simulation activities in Kilbirnie House. They certainly looked like they were getting a lot out of it. I sat in on two of the boys completing a 'rescue' in the cage room - they had to work together to negotiate their way around a two storey cage structure in the pitch dark wearing protective clothing and breathing apparatus. It's a great way of encouraging teamwork and communication, and I was impressed by the serious way the young people treated the exercise. It's certainly a good way of instilling respect for the dangerous work carried out by firefighters. Check out the video below!

Parkhead closure goes ahead

I've taken some time to get over my anger that Parkhead Fire Station is set to close. I, and other SNP colleagues on the Fire Board, asked the questions that needed asked around safety and service provision. We criticised the public consultation, which had received suspiciously low responses from the public. We queried why those comments which were against the proposals got played down in the response to the consultation. Buried at the back, these included:

"I trust that you will not claim in your ‘full consultation report’ that this event and your ‘business plan’ has in any way the support of this community council - since the event was clearly designed to exclude any meaningful participation by working people in general and by this Community Council in particular."

"The FBU presented a petition with over 2000 signatures asking for the Board of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue to retain Parkhead Fire Station. The petition stated that a slower and less efficient service would be provided and no account was being taken of planned regeneration works. The premise of this petition was therefore misleading."

"Our overall conclusion, then, has to be somewhat guarded:
The Public Meetings did not demonstrate a widespread public opposition to the proposals – because they were poorly attended and because fire service personnel were so influential in articulating concerns that were taken up by others;"

In the end, we still got outvoted 17 - 6.

Credit must go to the FBU, who did so much work to raise awareness in the local community and told the other side story.

I got an assurance from the Chief Officer after the meeting that Parkhead will remain open until the new station is built. This may take around two years.

Petition letters handed in

The consultation on the proposal to close Parkhead Fire Station closed on the 23rd of January, so I headed to Hamilton to hand in the hundred and twenty or so written responses I received from the people of Parkhead. There should be a decision in the offing soon, but I hope the efforts of everyone involved in the campaign won't be in vain.

FBU Public Meeting

The Fire Brigades Union Public Meeting tonight on the proposed closure of Parkhead Fire Station was lively and well attended. There were meaningful, heartfelt contributions from the floor, both by fire fighters and members of the public. The FBU got to make the presentation that was denied to members of the Fire Board by the Labour Chair, and the public and elected members got to hear the other side of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's proposals.

Ken Ross, the Regional Secretary for Scotland of the FBU gave a very informative presentation busting the myths and half truths being sold to locals as part of the consultation. The constituents I spoke to afterwards were very grateful to have had the counter-presentation., which really just highlights how things were being spun. The FBU website has a lot of information on this, but the basic points are as follows;

- the number of fire fighters at the new Cambuslang station (which will replace Parkhead and Cambuslang) will be around thirty fewer
- there will be one fewer fire appliance
- response times will increase
- fewer fire fighters means that fewer home fire safety visits can be carried out.

All this when there will be significant developments going on in the east end.

I personally delivered a survey to Parkhead residents to ask people why Parkhead Fire Station mattered to them. I spent a most of my day today going through the responses which had arrived. I wasn't surprised to hear that people wanted to save their local fire station, but I was taken aback by the stories they had written about the impact of fire on their lives. For several the fire wasn't even in their own home, but that of a neighbour. If fire crews had taken just a few minutes longer, several families would have been trapped and lost their lives. For others, the simple reassurance of having the service there for when they need it is invaluable.

Neither the people of Parkhead, nor fire fighters can see the logic of this closure. I'm with them. The closure of Parkhead Fire Station is a bad deal for the people of the East End and I will do what I can to make their voices heard.

Public Meeting for Parkhead Fire Station Closure

THE FIRE BRIGADES UNION

STRATHCLYDE

Immediate Release

Saturday 17^th January 2009

Fire Brigades Union Public Meeting on

Proposed Closure of Parkhead Fire Station

The Fire Brigades Union is holding a PUBLIC MEETING at the FULLERTON PARK HOTEL, Tollcross Rd, Glasgow on Monday 19^th January 2009 at 1830hrs.

The meeting has been arranged in order for the Union to outline its opposition to the proposals by Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service management to close Parkhead Fire Station.

Members of the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service Board, as well as MPs, MSPs, Councillors, Community Councils & Residents in the Communities covered by Parkhead & Cambuslang Fire Stations, have all been invited to the meeting.

The Public Consultation on the proposals ends on the 24^th January 2009. The matter will then be discussed and decided upon by the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Board on 13^th February 2009.

John McFadden, Brigade Treasurer & Campaign Coordinator for the Strathclyde Fire Brigades Union said “There is overwhelming evidence that shows that Parkhead Fire Station must be retained. It is the busiest single appliance Fire Station in Scotland and covers some of the poorest & most needy Communities in the UK.

“The Communities continue to record some of the highest fatality & casualty rates in Scotland. It is clear that those Communities need their Fire Station.

“The proposed closure of the station defies all logic. To remove the station and serve these Communities from a Fire Station further away, will only serve to INCREASE RESPONSE TIMES and INCREASE FATALITY & CASUALTY RATES.

“We hope that the members of the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service Board will recognise this, reject management’s proposals and concentrate on refurbishing Parkhead Fire Station for the 21^st Century.

***ENDS***

For Further Information Contact:

John McFadden Strathclyde Brigade Treasurer Mobile: 07801-047-612

Campaign Coordinator

Alex Miller Strathclyde Brigade Secretary Mobile: 07890-630-988

NOTE FOR EDITORS

Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service managers state that the new proposed Fire Station in Cambuslang will be able to attend incident to Communities currently served by Parkhead Fire Station in 8 minutes.

The average Response Time currently achieved by appliances from Parkhead Fire Station is 3 minutes 34 seconds.

The Communities covered by Parkhead Fire Station are growing. Over the coming 5 years, it is projected that there will be:

• 10,000 New Homes;
• 25,000 New Residents;
• Over 400,000 square feet of Commercial Property;
• A Multitude of Leisure & Community Facilities, due to the Commonwealth Games; and
• The Extension of the M74 Motorway.

Current Special Life Risks include such premises as:

• Celtic Park Football Stadium;
• Barlinnie Prison;
• 3 Hospitals;
• 11 Care Homes;
• 11 Multi-Storey Flats;
• 1 Major Bus Depot;
• 15 Primary Schools;
• 4 Secondary Schools; &
• 13 Nursery Schools.

Blogging roundup

The last couple of weeks have been hectic, so I'm going to do a quick sum up of the things I've done and the places I've been. Then I'll do conference, then I'll start on this week (Thursday already? You've gotta be kidding!).

Thursday the 9th was a fairly busy - I started by modelling for my good friend Fiona, who designed my wedding dress. My gown had taken a bit of a pounding in the ceilidh but Fiona had managed to put it back together again, and return it to a pristine condition. It's nice to have it, but it's more useful to use it - Fiona is exhibiting in a number of upcoming wedding fairs, and I managed to be pursuaded to pose for her. I've yet to see the photos, but I hope there's something she can use. From there, I had to high-tail it to Hamilton to attend the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Board, still scrubbing wild makeup from my face!

I'm a substitute member on the SFR Board, so I don't get the opportunity to go to many meetings. It was important to attend this one, however, since the closure of Parkhead Fire Station in my ward was on the agenda. I appreciate things can't stay the same forever, and that the current station isn't ideal, but I don't think the proposal to close it and merge with Cambuslang (on a new site over the river in South Lanarkshire) is the right call. The FBU aren't keen either. With huge change in the area, including the Commonwealth Games arena and velodrome, I think there's more to be considered. The SNP and independent member on the Board all voted against the move, and Labour (including the Glasgow members) voted for the closure. I intend to blog more on this later; as the plans will go out for consultation, there's a lot still to play for.

The evening of Thursday 9th was the annual St Mungo's Academy Awards Ceremony. It's tremendous to see young people doing well and excelling in their chosen subjects, and I was proud to see how well the pupils had done. It's a real treat to attend. The event itself is very slick (as it needs to be when you're giving out so many prizes!), and entertainment was provided by the school orchestra, jazz band and the choir. One of the nicest things was the pupils who left at the end of the school year coming back in numbers to recieve their prizes. At my school, the prizegiving ceremony was at the end of the summer term, with prizes based on prelim results. The hall would be oven-like and everyone wanted to get out to let the summer holidays begin. At St Mungo's, the prizes reflect the actual post-appeal results. There was extra pride when the pupils who achieved 5 A Highers and 8 Standard Grades got up to take their bow. Doing it this way allows those still at the school to see for themselves what opportunities lie before them - work, travel, college, uni.

Saturday 11th - Scotland Norway. Having neglected to get tickets, I watched the game in Coopers with the usual suspects. It was bad. Very bad. There were many sorrows to drown, and there may have been some whisky involved.

Sunday 12th - I attended the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust Open Day, and even managed to get my mum, dad and husband to come along and admire the beautiful buses.

There were a lot of very special and rare buses on show, some the only ones remaining of their kind. A good number had driven to the event especially for the open day, while others are garaged there permenantly. Some vehicles from the Glasgow Museum of Transport are being looked after by GVVT while the preparations are made for the move to the new Riverside Museum.

My parents (who're not that old!) enjoyed seeing some of the buses they used in times past, lovingly and painstakingly restored. A range of trucks, vans, and even a tank were also on show.

As you can see from this picture of the outside of the garage, there were plenty of visitors to the open day. Some of the buses were even running a free hurl to the Museum of Transport, and when I headed off to the Kelvin Hall after lunch, it was quite exciting to see a convoy of vintage buses running along Argyle Street.

The Kelvin Hall was hosting the Acrobatic Gymnastic World Championships. I watched and was impressed by the Gymnastics at the Olympics, but I was totally blown away by the agility and strength of the competitors in this event. You'll be able to see from the video some of the amazing feats, but seeing it in person was breathtaking. The gymnasts, male and female, were able to do the impossible. Flips, tumbles, throws, balancing feats. Huge skill, and I would imagine, massive pain, but truly phenomenal perfomances through it all. Check out the videos and the gallery - you'll be amazed.