SIGNING BRIGHT
Lick of paint and loving touch does the business for Barrowland gates
IN its glory days the Barras was a bright, brash place to grab a bargain.
The legendary gallus patter was thrown in for free.
Now the market’s four famous signs have had a facelift to help bring back some of that sparkle to the east end of Glasgow.
The famous steel arches have been strengthened, renovated and repainted to give the entrance points to the market a shiny new look.
It’s part of a much bigger £27million plan to improve the whole area.
The archways have been under plastic wraps while contractors Covanburn got to work on them.
Projects manager Conor Bardy explained: “The arches were grit blasted back to the original steel and any spot repairs carried out. A new, modern paint system was applied consisting of four coatings which will ensure BRUSH UP Paint job will last the arches remain colourful for the next 25 years.”
A two-man painting crew applied 100 litres of paint to each archway.
The Barras have been a landmark since Margaret Maciver got a few stallholders together in the 1930s.
The Barrowland venue is still a magnet when there’s a big concert on, and new ventures such as St Luke’s and A’Challtainn fish restaurant are bringing new people to the east end.
But demand for sports socks and cheap mince has declined and the Barras market is a sad shadow of its former vibrant self.
Regeneration has been slow and patchy with ongoing attempts to evict the dodgy DVD and tobacco salesmen and build on the success of the Barrowland and St Luke’s to turn the area into the city’s arts, events and music quarter.
Glasgow City Council’s City Deal project has invested in the area’s infrastructure by smartening up open spaces, offering grants to businesses using upper floors of existing buildings, improving shopfronts and making it easier to get around the area.
The new signs are just the finishing touch.