CAMPAIGNERS VOW TO REBUILD TORCHED BOTHY
CALLOUS firebugs torched a bothy constructed as part of a fight against controversial development plans.
Louts set fire to Still Game for the Valley’s hut in Collina Street, which was extinguished last night, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said, destroying the structure.
Billy McAllister, chairman of the group, said he wanted people in the community to feel connected to the campaign, named in a nod to the site’s history as the backdrop the beloved BBC Scotland sitcom.
“We said to ourselves, how can we get people interested and make a claim on the land themselves?
“We wanted to build a community garden, so as we come into the spring and summer, we can grow fruit and vegetables. We also have kids coming up here from outreach programmes, so it has an advantage to the community more than just houses.”
We told previously how the shed – nicknamed Boaby’s Bothy – was hand built by local joiner Steven Marshall free of charge to support the campaign.
It’s a focal point for the campaign to halt plans to sell off the former council estate to private developers which Glasgow city council say are backed by the community.
The council points towards the outcome of a community consultation which expressed support for a mixed development including both social rented homes and houses to buy, with measures in place to block buy-to-let on the new affordable homes planned for the scheme.
Still Game for the Valley have encouraged locals to bring stones to rebuild the bothy on Saturday from 11am.
Mr McAllister said: “We want to rebuild the bothy as something that will last, something that’s fireproof.”
He insists that the council has not consulted the community enough and that the true views of local people are not being taken into account, adding that during his time in high-profile positions in local politics, he had not been aware of the plans for the site.
A spokesman for the council said: “It should be remembered that there absolutely has been consultation with local people on the plans for the site through the Maryhill Transformational Regeneration Area, a housing and community-led plan that has the support of local organisations.
“The mixed-tenure approach to housing development being used in Maryhill has brought successful regeneration to other areas in the city, offering a range of housing options that suit the different housing needs of people wishing to stay in the area.”