Jo Swinson

Bishopbriggs Town Centre Redevelopment: Q&A

Where is the redevelopment happening?
Why is it happening?
What will the new development offer?
What are the main proposals in Option 1?
What are the main proposals in Option 2?
Why has the Bishopbriggs Academy sports hall not been retained?
What happens next?
What will the detailed plans contain? How can I make my views heard?
When will construction work begin?

Latest News

12/09/11 - Jo has spoken to Morrisons to get an update on the latest Bishopbriggs Town Centre redevelopment news - see a summary of the news and Jo's comments here.

25/03/11 - Following Jo's meeting with Guy Mason from Morrisons, it was suggested that she should meet Morrisons' Scottish contact, Andrew Wood. Jo asked for a guarantee that the plans would not move forward until extensive consultation with the community had been carried out. You can read her comments here.

Jo meets with Morrisons to discuss local concerns and consultation plans

Jo recently met Guy Mason, Public Affairs Manager at Morrisons, to stress the serious local concerns about changes to the town centre and sought his assurance that there would be a thorough consultation process. You can read more about the meeting and Jo's comments here.

Publication of Section 75 legal agreement

Following the sale of the Bishopbriggs redevelopment land to Morrisons on December 21, Jo has welcomed the publication of the Section 75 legal agreement regulating the terms of the planning permission.

The Section 75 agreement has specified a financial contribution from the developers of £300,000 for the delivery of a new Community Hub. The facilities will include exhibition space, a community cafe and offices suitable for public meetings.The provision of 60 unrestricted long stay car parking spaces will go ahead, and £140,000 will also be put toward improving Kirkintilloch Road. Affordable housing will also be built on the land.

You can read the full Section 75 Legal Agreement here:

Section 75 Legal Agreement

Read Jo's full comments on the Section 75 Legal Agreement here:

21/1/11 Swinson: Bishopbriggs redevelopment must benefit local community

John Dickson, one of the four Community Champions appointed by Bishopbriggs Community Council to input local people's views into the planning process, has resigned over Muse's refusal to give the community any say over the large supermarket they plan to build in the town centre.

I have written to Muse Developments and the Council seeking an urgent meeting to rectify this situation.

You can read my comments and John Dickson's comments here:

03/11/10 Jo calls for urgent meeting over town centre plans

Q&A

The company responsible for the redevelopment of Bishopbriggs town centre is Muse Developments. Following a number of consultations with local residents, elected representatives and businesses, Muse submitted an outline planning application, which has been accepted by the planning board. This page sets out the details of the proposed redevelopment and information on how to make your views heard.

Where is the redevelopment happening?

The redevelopment will cover the existing Town Centre and the land previously occupied by Bishopbriggs Academy which re-opened on Wednesday 19th August 2009 at its new premises on Wester Cleddens Road. All the paperwork and plans are public documents which you can view between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday at: East Dunbartonshire Council, Planning Development and Property Assets, The Triangle, Kirkintilloch Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 2TR.

Why is it happening?

The relocation of Bishopbriggs Academy has raised the possibility of combining the school site with the adjacent Bishopbriggs Triangle. I opposed the relocation of the school, however now that the decision has been made, it makes sense to make the best of this opportunity to extend the town centre and improve the physical environment.

What will the new development offer?

On 27th October 2009, East Dunbartonshire Council's planning board accepted the outline planning application which was submitted to the Council in May 2009. As it is only an outline application, it is subject to change, and the developers are now coming up with a more detailed submission.

The outline application was based on Option 1 of the revised proposals submitted by Muse in May 2009 (see full details below). However it also included sketches of Option 2, and it is possible that as further details of the plans are decided, elements of Option 2, including the retention of the sports hall, may be included.

Download the revised proposals from Muse Developments

What are the main proposals in Option 1?

Retail

• Additional retail space at street level on the site of the existing St Matthew's Church
• A new Morrisson's retail store on the site of the school

Social care facilities

• There is a possibility that a medical centre would be built instead of a new nursery
• Removal of the existing nursey, to be replaced by a new one within the residential end of the site
• A new care home at the Cleddens Court end of the site

Residential

• New housing to the rear of the site, including a mixture of house types and flats

Community facilities

• The existing Library would be retained along with the Church House on the corner of Kirkintilloch Road and South Crosshill Road
• St. Matthew's Church and hall would be removed to allow for the creation of new commercial buildings on the northern edge of the civic space
• A new larger church and hall would be built alongside the library
• The new church would be constructed in advance of the existing one being removed to allow continuity of the church's activities

Streets and Spaces

• The sports hall would be retained for community use
• Car parking would be available off South Crosshill Road

What are the main proposals in Option 2?

This proposal would include the following changes to Option 1:

Sports Hall

• The sports hall would be retained for community use
• Car parking would be available off South Crosshill Road
• Steps and a ramp would provide pedestrian access from the car park to the Sports Hall. Pedestrian access would also be available from the new retail store and from the new residential area

Retail

• The Foodstore would be located further west, reducing the number of spaces in the shared car park

Residential

• Retention of the sports hall may allow space for a slightly greater number of residential units

Nursery

• A new nursery is not included with this option

Why has the Bishopbriggs Academy sports hall not been retained?

Sadly, the sports hall on the former Bishopbriggs Academy site is now being demolished.

Read my reaction here.

The developers initially promised to keep the school sports hall standing, as it is a new facility which cost a lot of money to build, and the local community expressed a wish for it to stay. However, Muse Developments revealed in February 2009 in a letter to me that they intended to demolish the sports hall as they could not find a viable use for it.

A survey I ran in 2008 showed that 93% of respondents wanted the sports hall to be retained, and so not surprisingly there was considerable public outcry over the new plans.

View my survey of Bishopbriggs residents here

Along with many local activists, I launched a campaign to save the sports hall. Members of the local community also came up with their own alternative plans for the town centre.

View the alternative plans here

A collective of local community groups came together and proposed that they would run the sports hall as a facility for the community. As a result, the developers said that if the group put together a business plan they would look at it and consider retaining the sports hall. The business plan was submitted to Muse in late 2009.

View the business plan here.

When the planning board accepted Muse's outline planning application, Muse became the owner of the land on which the sports hall stands. This could have allowed Muse to demolish the sports hall immediately, however Provost Eric Gotts proposed a condition (known as condition 51), which was accepted by the planning board, to prevent Muse from demolishing the hall before more details plans have been approved by the board.

Muse then asked for the condition to be dropped, arguing that the business plan they had seen was not viable and that they already had a contract for the demolition of the whole of the former Bishopbriggs Academy. In exchange, they proposed to enter a Section 75 legal agreement stating that the development must include a facility, subject to confirmation of demand, which would provide:

• a meeting facility to accommodate 150 people;
• a community café;
• small meeting rooms for special interest groups;
• offices suitable for a range of "surgeries"

Read the Council's report on the proposal

This has allowed Muse to demolish the sports hall provided they ensure these facilities are included elsewhere in the development. In December 2009, the Council's planning board agreed unanimously to drop condition 51 and replace it with this legal agreement.

Read my reaction here

For more information on my campaign to ensure Bishopbriggs receives good quality community facilities, please see the following new stories:

20/1/12 High turnout for "Placecheck" shows huge community interest in town centre plans

23/12/11 "Back to the drawing board" - Jo tells Morrisons

12/9/11 Slow progress on Bishopbriggs town centre site

11/1/11 Community involvement in Bishopbriggs plans crucial - Jo

3/11/10 Jo calls for urgent meeting over town centre plans

28/04/10 Sports hall demolition begins

11/01/10 Community involvement in Bishopbriggs plans crucial - Jo

23/12/09 Council must stand firm on Bishopbriggs community facilities

29/10/09 Victory for sports hall, failure for local democracy

07/10/09 Jo calls for Public Hearing on town centre plans

26/08/09 Jo calls for action over sports hall application

14/05/09 Jo urges community groups to support sports hall

03/04/09 Bishopbriggs residents hope to run sports hall

13/03/09 An alternative vision of Bishopbriggs town centre is possible

26/02/09 Sports Hall demolition would be a ridiculous waste

What happens next?

Now that the outline planning application for the development has been approved by the planning board, Muse Developments must come up with more detailed plans.

Muse expects to have a detailed planning application ready by early spring.

A diary of council meetings can be tracked here

East Dunbartonshire Council and Muse are currently in talks regarding the car park area of Woodhill Evangelical Church. This area of land has different potential plans associated with it, including a nursery, a children's play area for the use of the new flats, or a 60 bedroom care home. However given that the Church uses this car park for its several community clubs and services, it is essential the car park stays as it is. The Church does not only use its car park for Sunday services; the Church hosts a number of local clubs and youth clubs, a crèche, community breakfasts and lunches, and provides childcare during the week. A weekly diary of the Church's activities is available at www.woodhillevangelical.org.uk. I have written to the developers to request they gift this land back to the Church as a community-spirited gesture of goodwill, given that they insist they are "sensitive to the needs of the local community".

What will the detailed plans contain?

Muse Developments presented their ideas for the detailed planning application to a meeting of Bishopbriggs Community Council in January 2010.

In addition to the points in the outline application, Muse said they are considering building two new supermarkets in the area.

Read my statement to the meeting here:

15/01/10 Town centre must be "more than a glorified supermarket car park" - Jo

Bishopbriggs Community Council has appointed four 'community champions' who Muse will consult as they put together the application. They are Ruth Box of Woodhill Evangelical Church, Sub-postmaster John Dickson, Pat McBride of Wester Cleddens Residents Group and Donald MacDonald of Woodhill Residents Group. The champions' group will be chaired by Dominic Notarangelo, Chair of Bishopbriggs Community Council.

See the champions' website here

The Bishopbriggs Herald reported on 27th January that Muse is now considering building a cinema and a car park by Bishopbriggs railway station.

Dominic Notarangelo has said, "Muse Developments initially pooh-poohed the idea of a cinema. But after looking at the rates for a cinema, as compared to two large retail units, they realised they were similar. If a company was interested in putting a cinema in place, it could happen. There is a community aspiration for a cinema in Bishopbriggs."

It was reported that 60 car parking spaces for the railway station will be included in the plans.

The Bishopbriggs Herald also revealed that St. Matthew's Church hall will not now be demolished.

Muse Developments said, "Nothing is being ruled out and nothing is being ruled in - that is what we are focusing on now, in consultation and partnership with the newly-established community subcomittee and East Dunbartonshire Council."

A report by Audit Scotland has named part of Kirkintilloch Road in Bishopbriggs as one of 21 "hotspots" of poor air quality in Scotland. The report blames poor air quality in the area on traffic pollution, and I am concerned that the redevelopment of the town centre will only increase the flow of traffic. I am calling on Muse and the Council to keep environmental concerns in mind, and to consider the impact on air quality which the development may have.

01/02/10 Bishopbriggs named as air pollution hotspot

14/01/10 Revealed: 21 hotspots for air pollution, with traffic worst offender (The Scotsman)

Read the full report by Audit Scotland

How can I make my views heard?

To make your views heard, please write to: Chief Executive, PO Box 4, Tom Johnston House, Civic Way, Kirkintilloch G66 4TJ.

I will remain involved throughout the consultation process and continue to make representations on behalf constituents. To get in touch with me, please email jo@joswinson.org.uk or write to: Jo Swinson MP, 4 Springfield House, Emerson Road, Bishopbriggs, G64 1QE.

All the paperwork and plans are public documents which you can view between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday at: East Dunbartonshire Council, Planning Development and Property Assets, The Triangle, Kirkintilloch Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 2TR.

If you would be interested in using the sports hall, please contact Ruth Box on 0141 772 4283 or by emailing admin@woodhillevangelical.org.uk

When will construction work begin?

Although a firm schedule has not yet been approved, the school site is expected to be handed over in Spring 2010, with construction work starting in summer 2010 at the earliest. The timescale for the development is set out on page 20 of the proposal.

For more information, you can visit:

28 December 2010: Fury after Bishopbriggs town centre is flogged before Christmas (Kirkintilloch Herald)

22 December 2009 Time to talk turkey on town centre plan (Bishopbriggs Herald)

09 December 2009 Town centre plans under the spotlight (Bishopbriggs Herald)

30 September 2009: Hall to play for in Bishopbriggs (Bishopbriggs Herald)

26 August 2009: Sports hall facing oblivion? (Bishopbriggs Herald)

26 May 2009: Bishopbriggs masterplan will be watched (Kirkintilloch Herald)

20 May 2009: £32m plan for Bishopbriggs (Kirkintilloch Herald)

13 May 2009 Bishopbriggs is set for £32m makeover (Evening Times)

6 May 2009: Save our centre from the axe! (Kirkintilloch Herald)

26 March 2009: Mixed feelings over Bishopbriggs centre (Kirkintilloch Herald)

5 March 2009: Campaigners launch bid to save £1m sports hall (Evening Times)

4 March 2009: Fury at plans to bulldoze sports centre (Kirkintilloch Herald)

12 February 2008: Bishopbriggs needs new shops and parking (Bishopbriggs Herald)