Category: Notice Board (Page 1 of 10)

Window Wanderland is back!

We are thrilled to announce the return of Window Wanderland to the streets of Strathbungo on 24 February 2024. This beloved community event transforms the neighbourhood into an outdoor art gallery for one magical night.

Window Wanderland showcases the community’s incredible creative spirit and talent, filling the streets with families, friends, and art lovers as they wander about admiring the creative window displays. The event provides a platform for residents to express themselves, whether young or old, artistic or not, and share their creativity with their neighbours and spectators.

But the magic of Window Wanderland doesn’t happen in isolation; now is your chance to get involved! No matter your skills or experience, start brainstorming how to transform your windows into a work of art for the community to enjoy this February.

Join our Workshop!

Not sure where to start? We plan to host a collaborative creative workshop on 10 February from 2-4 pm to help spark your imagination, encouraging seasoned veterans and event newbies to share ideas and window decorating techniques.

Volunteering is a great way to meet neighbours if you’re a budding artist. Come along to The Point, Queens Drive on 10 February and lend your talents to help others create eye-catching windows. To get involved, express your interest by emailing: bungo.windowwanderland@gmail.com.

Window Wanderland, Saturday 24 February, 6pm-9pm.

Strathbungo’s Footbridge 1877-2023

Strathbungo’s much-loved railway footbridge passed away at 2am on 9th January 2023 at the grand old age of 146. She was carried gracefully to heaven by giant lifting crane.

The main span is lifted high above the tracks by crane

Removal of the bridge span. Credit: Roberto Caviertes

Conceived at the back of an ironworks in Paisley, she was born to parents Hanna and Donald. And Wilson. One of a large family, her siblings included identical twin railway bridges, Glasgow’s Albert Bridge, gas holders, and a couple of naval torpedo boats.

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Bye-bye Susie’s, bye-bye bridge

It was a busy weekend in the Bungo, bringing the largest changes to the neighbourhood in living memory.

The Booking Hall

Strathbungo Station opened in 1877. The booking hall had stood on the Nithsdale Road bridge ever since, even after the station’s closure in 1962. It finally disappeared last weekend (5th-7th August 2022), followed shortly after by the bridge itself.

The booking hall was a local landmark, and in recent years was better known as Susie’s shop, run by Joe Deo and his family until his recent retirement. Joe was out himself to see the work. You can read the history of Strathbungo Station on BygoneBungo.

Joe stands in front of the bridge, with fencing and demolition cranes behind

Joe Deo, former proprietor of Susie’s shop at the demolition

The Bridge

Crane lifting girders off the Nithsdale Road bridge

The bridge removal was required to allow electrification of the railway line. It was a major civil engineering undertaking and along with works at other locations on the line, had to be completed in one weekend to minimise disruption to the line. Many will have seen the huge crane employed to remove the steel girders of the old bridge. The exercise seemed to go without a hitch, although I have been told it did sever the connection between the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and several important national IT systems over the weekend – in diverting essential services over the temporary bridge on Moray Place, someone missed a cable somewhere.

The girders for the new bridge are due to be installed this weekend, so expect to see another large crane in the area. Meanwhile modifications have been made to the footbridge to allow step free access for the months that the Nithsdale Road bridge is being reconstructed. Sadly the footbridge will go too in the Spring, and rumours are that no one has yet been found to rescue it from the scrap heap.

Local photographer Nic Gordon recorded the events, and more pictures can be seen on his website.

Tree felling & Works Depot

View from footbridge showing a large section of trees being felled

Felling of trees in progress on Darnley Road. Credit: Nic Gordon

Network Rail also arrived with chain saws and conducted extensive tree felling on the Darnley Road side of the tracks which caused some alarm and no little environmental destruction, especially as no warning was given about this aspect of the project. It has been difficult to find out what this was all about, and one Twitter user was given a generic response about tree clearance to allow gantry installation which clearly didn’t fit the bill, but we have finally got some detail from Network Rail representatives. They intend to take down a section of the stone wall and use this area for track access and a depot during the works, and will (hopefully) reinstate things once they are done. There are also issues around the presence of Japanese knotweed.

As you know, the primary work in the Strathbungo area for the last few months has been around the bridge at Nithsdale Road and nearby footbridge. Since April we have also been undertaking work along the length of the route from Barrhead to install foundations for the overhead lines, something you had previously sought clarity on following our notification letter in April, specifically around the type of piling this would involve. With the foundation work now reaching the Strathbungo area, this has brought with it some accompanying activity required in order to deliver the work. I’m sorry this wasn’t made clear in our letter in April.

Upcoming work for this activity includes:

15-19 Aug – Dayshift removal of wall section and installation of drop kerb.

20 Aug – Dayshift commencing of site clearance and excavation, including stump removal.

21-26 Aug – Day and nightshift civil works, including delivery of stone, ahead of construction of compound surface.

28-30 Aug – Installation of compound surface.

31 Aug – Dayshift work involving final site walkthrough of compound.

The construction of the compound involves removing a section of the boundary wall, retaining the existing copes, and installing a concrete drop kerb. This will involve the use of an excavator and concrete wagon with small work tools. Once complete, an excavator and dumper truck will be in operation within the de-vegetated area to dig out the compound area, and all materials, soil etc will be stockpiled on site. No soil material will be leaving the site. We do not envision vibrations from these machines impacting on surrounding properties.

From an environmental perspective, the entire area is confirmed as having knotweed contamination which is why no soil will be removed from site. The dumper truck and excavator will remain in the contaminated zone, and will be fully cleaned and inspected before leaving site to ensure they are not contaminated with knotweed. All operatives working within the site will be required to undertake a full boot and PPE wash and inspection when leaving site. A knotweed membrane will be installed for the full extent of the compound area, and a quarantine zone around the stockpiled soil materials. A weekly inspection of the compound surface will take place, but as the growing season for knotweed has now passed, there won’t be any encroachment growth out of the quarantined area. As we approach summer 2023, which is next knotweed growing season, an increased inspection regime will be implemented, primarily inspecting the compound surface for any signs of penetration of the knotweed membrane and growth outwith the quarantine zone.

In terms of noise, this will be at its highest in the final week while we are laying the new stone for the compound surface, which will sit on top of the knotweed membrane. This specific activity takes place nightshift 28-30 Aug, however earth moving machines will be in operation for the duration of the civil works.

In terms of the knotweed treatment plan, this will not commence until the 2023 growing season and involves a spray herbicide over two sessions suitably spaced apart, with a further inspection towards the end of the growing season to review the effectiveness of the treatment. This treatment plan will continue for the next 2 to 3 years. Your concerns have also been passed to our knotweed specialist regarding any impact the herbicides may have on other plants in the surrounding area.

In terms of future environmental management plans for the area, it is intended that the top compound surface will be inspected and removed along with the knotweed membrane. Depending on the results of the inspection, these materials will likely be classified as waste and treated accordingly. A review of the stockpiled soil material will be undertaken to determine if it should be left in place I.e if there has been suitable wilding taken place. The wall will be reinstated with matching stone, rather than engineering brick, and opportunities for biodiversity improvement assessed. The Network Rail environmental team will be involved throughout this process.

We don’t have specific dates for the foundation and stanchion installation, but it should take place at some point between 3-30 Sep.

Can you make your Strathbungo gas boiler operate more efficiently?

In April gas bills are likely to rise 50% due to the high price of gas. Most gas boilers in Strathbungo will be condensing combi boilers which should operate at 93% efficiency but almost all of them will be incorrectly installed such that they only operate at 83% efficiency. Loco Home Retrofit have published a video from their information event which explored why this is the case and how this can be fixed to gain that 10% in efficiency and hence save 15% off April’s increased bills. Watch on Vimeo or Twitter.

In summary: Condensing boilers should be installed with a flow temperature of less than 50C to the radiators so that all the steam from the boiler condenses and releases the heat into the radiator water rather than the outside air. Almost all are installed with much higher flow temperatures of up to 70℃ as that is what the previous generation (15 years ago) of non-condensing boilers did. You can try turning down the flow temperature (and so improve efficiency) and see whether your home stays warm enough. You might need to turn it up again on colder days. Getting an OpenTherm standard compatible thermostat connected to the boiler’s communication bus (rather than a standard thermostat connected to the on/off switch, most thermostats are installed incorrectly!) can automate this (on compatible boilers), and with other tricks, save even more money.

If you are limiting your heating usage by having the boiler turn on and off at set times to save money you may find that turning down the flow temperature and leaving it on more of the time can maintain the same level of (dis)comfort at a further reduced cost.

There are a lot more important details and caveats described very accessibly in the video so it is well worth watching if the above sounds interesting.

Loco Home Retrofit will be grateful for your feedback on the presentation to help improve and to support future funding applications.

Next presentation Wednesday 12 January

Strathbungo residents may also be interested in Loco Home Retrofit’s event “Tenement flat case study: superior comfort and low bills” on Wed, 12 January 2022
19:00 – 20:00 Registration

Disclaimer: some members of the Strathbungo Eco Group are also members or directors of Loco Home Retrofit and we hope to continue working with Loco Home Retrofit to achieve transformational improvement in heating in Strathbungo.

More on the Loco Home co-operative here.

Staying warm at higher gas prices

With gas prices hitting £4 a therm and the price cap at 70p a therm you might be wondering how you can improve the insulation of your home in Strathbungo. Loco Home Retrofit CIC is a new local community benefit co-op who are trying to help communities insulate.

Their launch event is at 19:30 on Wednesday 1st December https://bit.ly/loco_launch

The Strathbungo Eco Group is excited about working with Loco Home Retrofit to achieve transformative improvements in insulation and energy in Strathbungo while preserving and maintaining our wonderful architecture.

Disclaimer: In their formative stages Loco Home Retrofit have helped Strathbungo Eco Group with information events and informal advice. Various Eco Group members have benefited from professional advice (sometimes at a discount). Tom Nockolds, a Director of Loco Home Retrofit, is also a Strathbungo Eco Group and Strathbungo Society Committee member.

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Greening Strathbungo

image of tree

Thank you to the Strathbungo Eco Group, which presented on a variety of topics at the Society’s AGM on Tuesday 17 November.

The group was formed by a group of Bungo neighbours, inspired by cleaner air and audible birdsong during lock-down. There is a variety of projects under way, ranging from the practical to the exploratory. You can find out more from the slides that were presented here.

If you’re interested in being part of this informal but enthusiastic group, email strathbungoecogroup@gmail.com to request to join the WhatsApp group.

Safety on the footbridge

sign saying Please llow people to cross

You may have noticed that a new sign has appeared on the ‘Bungo bridge over the railway. It asks bridge users to maintain a physical distance, allowing others to cross the bridge first if they’re already on it.

Most people already do this but there have been occasional incidents when a polite request has been met with confrontation.

Network Rail Vegetation Management – 2019-20

We have amalgated a series of posts into one, so you can follow the development, or jump straight to the latest update. Older posts on the subject can also be found by searching the site for “Network Rail”.

Background to the issue

In September 2019 Network Rail notified residents along the East Kilbride line of vegetation management work. Past experience, notably in 2005, and current experience elsewhere around Glasgow, suggested “slash and burn”, or more correctly “slash and chip” approach was to be used, clearing all vegetation with little consideration for wildlife, biodiversity or environmental damage, as rail safety was prioritised above all else.

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Glasgow City Council – coronavirus update

In case people aren’t aware of it, the Council has created a page showing the changes to services during this period. For example, changes to refuse collections (no brown or purple bins being emptied until further notice) or parks (all car parks now closed). You can find all the details at: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/coronavirus.

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