Bins, lighting and pavements get funds
WHILE the council will be forced to save £53m in this year’s budget, plans have been approved for a number of projects aimed at improving life for residents.
Children from some of Glasgow’s most deprived areas will benefit from a school holiday scheme, while families earning less than £25,000 will receive 800 hours of free childcare.
Five secondary schools are to get new sports pitches at a cost of £2.5m.
City treasurer Philip Braat said these would replace the “outdated blaes pitches” and provide a high-quality facility for pupils.
A total of £4.5m has been allocated for improvements to education services, while Land and Environmental Services will receive more than £21m.
This will see the Environmental Task Force extended until March 2018, with 140 extra frontline staff and additional enforcement officers added to the council’s payroll.
The council heard yesterday how the task force, which was set up last year by council leader Frank McAveety, had cleared enough graffiti to cover 12 Hampden pitches in just six months. The team have also collected 3000 tonnes of rubbish.
Residents living in tenements will have their bins upgraded at a cost of £6.5m.
Around 50,000 metal galvanized bins will be replaced with “modern alternatives” while £5m will be put towards repairing badly damaged pavements.
The council hope that repairing footways will cut down on the number of compensation claims received, and therefore reduce the amount of cash paid out to injured residents.
They hope it will also reduce the cost of emergency repairs across the city.
£1.3m of the LES budget is to be spent replacing the Polmadie bridge, providing access for pedestrians and cyclists to Oatlands and Glasgow Green.
The councillors heard that the scheme would “restore a critical part of the city’s walking and cycling network.”
Lighting is to be upgraded at a cost of £2.5m, which will include replacing ageing steel columns on specific routes and installing new LED lanterns.