ON 30 NOVEMBER Scotland celebrated St Andrew’s day with a huge strike by council workers, civil servants, dinner ladies, teachers, hospital workers, carers and service workers: nearly everyone in the public sector. In plans which will see hard pressed families being forced to work longer, for less, the government is raising the retirement age and making workers pay in more.

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PICKET: Maryhill locals among the workers on strike at the Western Infirmary

AN UNPRECENTED DEAL between politicians and developers has been exposed by the Burgh Angel. Government guidelines say that when private developers build new homes, they must also build a portion of social homes. This should have been the case in Maryhill Locks, but the Burgh Angel has learned that Councillors and Ministers have stepped in to ensure that social homes are not built. Because the developers are to build on areas that used to be social homes, they would have been under tight legal obligations to deliver new social homes. Instead homes intended for needy, hardworking families who have been waiting for years, will not be built. Power In Community Organiser Nick Durie, who is working to strengthen and increase the power of local residents

groups in the area, commented to the Angel that: “This is exactly the sort of thing that happens when leaders are not held to account. They behave without any kind of accountability. We don’t know yet if there is something dodgy about this deal, but the fact that it has been signed off on – apparently in secret – arouses suspicion.” The Angel asked the Housing Minister Keith Brown, and the former Housing Minister Alex Neil (who signed off on the deal) to comment, but they are yet to provide a reply. We also went to the Councillor leading on the development (a “Tranformational Regeneration Area” or “TRA” which the council has a committee for) and asked for a comment. Councillor Stephen Curran, the Chair of the TRA Committee was unfortunately too busy to comment.

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PLANS: the now underway redevelopment of Maryhill Locks

There is a big discussion going on around the country about which parliament, Scotland or UK, should hold what power. Politics at a Glasgow level has become a backdrop to this argument as there seems a real possibility that Labour will lose in the council elections here, allowing the SNP to take control of the umbrella body of Scottish councils (known as CoSLA): Glasgow is the most powerful Council that Labour still controls, and the elections for Councils are in May. Everyone is talking about power - who has it, why this or that body should have more or less power. Nobody is talking about what they would do with this power. There is in fact a 'crisis of power' in this country. It seems that while for the first time we are to be given a choice on the constitution of our country, we in Maryhill are to be given no choice over the major direction of our community. We were not consulted on whether we wanted social home cuts, by either the (Labour controlled) Council or the (SNP controlled) Scottish Government who both made the decision. We were ignored over the schools issue in the past.

Nationally if we Scots are to have more power in our Parliament, it has to be power that it is used to the service of our communities. Just as if we are to have "reindustrialisation," then the 'Green Revolution' has to be about bringing working class communities and Scotland's poorer folk up: not just about jobs for those in the know, or for those from the right background. It is time for real power in our communities. We heard this month from the Association of Scottish Community Councils that they will be 'winding up,' because the Scottish Government did not provide them enough grant to continue to exist. There is no point in "devolving" power, or Scotland becoming independent, if Scottish communities are to be left with less control over their own destiny than ever before. The Association - the umbrella body for Community Councils - made it clear that they believe many Community Councils are in crisis because they are not granted any real decision making power, and so many local people believe them to be irrelevant.

The Angel understands two Community Councils in Maryhill are now considering merger. Community Councils need to be given the powers to act, if we are to have real local democracy at a community level. But Community Councils and residents groups often do not have a deep enough base in their communities, or a tradition of mass community action that would force government to take them seriously. Scottish communities need to organise to assert their right to control their own destiny, and for the people of Scotland to lead the debate on what we in our communities and in the workplace believe any new powers should be used for. It is time that Scotland's citizens led the debate. It is time that we ensured any changes and improvements to the economy sought by Government are used to raise people up. Together. That would be real democracy.

--- The Burgh Angel will be giving extensive coverage to the “Social Home Swick”””” throughout the local election, to see if justice can be done by Maryhill..

A question of power. Who wieldedA question of power. Who wieldedA question of power. Who wieldedA question of power. Who wielded axe to Maryhill axe to Maryhill axe to Maryhill axe to Maryhill’’’’s homes?s homes?s homes?s homes?

SOCIAL HOUSING: locked out

Continued from front page… One Maryhill resident on the waiting list said, “It is tough enough to get housing. We’ve been waiting so long now, but to find out that the politicians have been doing deals to actually stop housing being built seems totally wrong.” Maryhill Anti Cuts group member and local community activist John Lawson told the Angel that this looks like a cut to homes: “At a time when housing is becoming scarce and people’s bills are rising, to find out that hundreds of homes have been cut by the Council and the Government seems like a Social Home Swick. There are

hundreds of families that have been waiting for too long now for a home they can call their own. We need to find out what went on here. There is an election coming up. Heads should roll for any dodgy deals made. Lining pockets by cutting family homes in Maryhill is an outrage.” The Burgh Angel will be pursuing this story over the coming months to uncover what went on to deny the building of hundreds of social homes in the Maryhill Burgh area, and who, and what, was behind these unprecedented housing deals.

Maryhill primary pupils get a sneak preview of the new stained glass windows

Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust is running preview tours of the completed Maryhill Burgh Halls throughout December, to show off the newly refurbished halls and what facilities are available. The building isn’t open to the public generally on a daily basis yet, so throughout December tours are being given. These are completely free, but places are limited, so the halls ask you to book a place in advance. Tours will last around 45 minutes.

When: Spaces are still available currently for - Sat 17 Dec at 4pm; Mon 19 Dec at 4pm or 6pm. Other dates will be added soon! Where: Maryhill Burgh Halls, 10-24 Gairbraid Avenue, G20 8YE. The new entrance is via the courtyard shared with Maryhill Leisure Centre - enter through the Firemen Gates in the archways halfway up Gairbraid Avenue. The entrance is on the right.. Please Book! Book by emailing info@mbht.org.uk or calling 0845 860 1878, leaving a contact phone number or email.

How the Burgh Angel reported the Burgh Halls victory in our first ever edition, in February 2006

Continued from page 1… The average pension for public sector workers is only £5,600 per year. The Chancellor, George Osborne, however would receive £32,977 per year - until he dies - if he retired tomorrow. The pension scheme for public sector workers, which was negotiated only a few years ago, was actually set to generate a profit for the government. The SNP condemned the pensions move, but did not observe the strike, crossing picket lines. Labour observed the strike in Scotland, but attacked the decision to strike at the UK level, attending Westminster during the strike, prompting confusion and anger among many workers. As Scotland's main political parties are confused and out of step about how to approach this issue, they are being left behind by dinner ladies, school teachers, cleaners, millions of ordinary people. Glasgow saw protest marches on the day, and rallies which were bigger than any seen in workers disputes in more than a generation. Negotiations continue, as government attempts to force through “final offer” of deep cuts seem, for now, to have become unstuck.

Fears are growing that the presence of Tesco in Maryhill in reaching saturation point. It follows the opening of another Tesco Express near the top of Queen Margaret Drive – just minutes from the door of the 24 hour Maryhill superstore that re-opened in late 2010. It also comes after the arrival of another, smaller Tesco Express opposite the Community Central Halls on Maryhill Road. Already, concerns are being raised at the proximity of the new Queen Margaret Drive shop to a whole row of locally-owned businesses, from coffee shops and cafes to a greengrocer and newsagents, that sit adjacent to the new Tesco. A low profile sticker campaign – urging people to support local shopkeepers – has hit the street, with residents and shopkeepers alike expressing concerns that the arrival of the new store could have a detrimental affect on the street – and the wider community. Local shops are in many ways the heart of our neighbourhoods. Yet thousands of small independent stores are being forced to close every year – leaving our high streets and local communities ghost lands, while consumers flock to out of town malls and huge

hypermarkets along the lines of Tesco Maryhill. Here, the Burgh Angel seeks to bust some of the myths surrounding supermarkets and their supposed 'benefits': JobsJobsJobsJobs???? Any job creation is obviously a good thing. But we need to keep things in perspective – most of the jobs big supermarkets create are low paid and insecure. In fact, Tesco recently trialled stores in which every employee – bar the managers – were on temporary contracts. It’s a far cry from the kind of mass investment in skills, training and secure jobs our communities need – and it gets even worse when big supermarkets have actually been proven to lead to a net decrease in jobs in the local area, given their impact on smaller businesses. Cheapest food?Cheapest food?Cheapest food?Cheapest food? Popular logic would have it that supermarkets stock the widest variety of goods and have the lowest prices. Yet research has actually shown that supermarkets, especially when it comes to healthy food like fruit and vegetables, can actually be more expensive than smaller retailers.

The Angel ViewThe Angel ViewThe Angel ViewThe Angel View Let’s be honest: most of us shop in Tesco - it's hard not to. Many of us have friends and family employed there as well.. It would be madness to suggest that people should stop buying stuff from Tesco – but spare a thought for your local corner shops, and the long-term consequences on our high streets, as well. After all, Tesco are a huge, multi-billion profit making business – and the money they make for their shareholders has always been what comes ahead of the needs of local communities like Maryhill – no matter how much their corporate spin might suggest otherwise.

The Burgh Angel Contact Details

CCCContact ontact ontact ontact ththththe Ae Ae Ae Angelngelngelngel The Burgh Angel can be contacted as follows. If you are letting us know about your views, or some news you think we should report, please tell us whether or not we can publish your name.

Write to: The Burgh Angel, 1/2 189b Maryhill Road, Glasgow, G20 7XJ Email: theburghangel@gmail.com

theburghangel@gmail.com_

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