School to have hedge barrier planted to shield from motorway pollution

A Glasgow M8 school barrier made of hedges is to be planted to shield a primary from pollution.

St Patrick’s Primary in Anderston sits on the edge of the huge motorway and children and staff are subjected to noise and air pollution in the playground.

A total of £6,000 will be spend on a green boundary of hedging at the fence facing the M8 after councillors and other community representatives agreed the funding on Friday during the Anderston/City/Yorkhill Area Partnership.

SNP councillor Angus Millar said: “The idea is to help address noise and air pollution, and create a visually more pleasant green barrier between the playground and the motorway.”

He explained that residents have raised the issue over a number of years and he and fellow ward councillor Eva Bolander pushed for it to be dealt with.

Millar added: “It’s far too early to say what the exact planting is that will take place as officers will need to work up detailed designs.”

The money for the school planting is coming from the area’s £1m Neighbourhood Infrastructure Improvement Fund (NIIF) from the council.

Trees are also be to be planted in the Anderston, City and Yorkhill ward area with £100,000 of the funding going towards ‘green infrastructure.’

Bollards are set to be introduced in St Vincent Street in Anderston following complaints from residents of cars driving over the pavement and through a pend.

Bollards are also to be placed at Midland Street in the city centre to crack down on parking on the pavement and obstruction of pedestrians thanks to NIIF funding.

Other work is to include pavement improvements at locations including St Vincent Crescent and Sauchiehall Street between North Street and Granville Street

Stairs will be repaired between Hill Street/Renfrew Street and West Graham Street/Dalhousie Street in Garnethill.

Streets are to be resurfaced in Yorkhill and Townhead, including sections of St Mungo Avenue, Yorkhill Street and Kelvinhaugh Street.

The area partnership signed off a total investment of £750,000 to pour into the area’s green spaces, roads and infrastructure on Friday.

Cash from the council’s Parks and Open Spaces Fund for the ward will see trees, wildflowers and food-growing projects around the Broomielaw and Cowcaddens areas; biodiversity enhancement around Anderston and St Patrick’s Primary Schools; and improvements at Garnethill Park and St Mungo’s Jubilee Park in Townhead.

The investment follows the council’s SNP administration providing millions of local community funding in its budget earlier this year.

Chair of the Anderston/City/Yorkhill Area Partnership, SNP Councillor Bolander, said: “I am delighted that, following engagement with and feedback from community councils, local groups and residents, we have been able to agree considerable funding to improve our local neighbourhoods across the city centre, Anderston, Kelvingrove and Yorkhill.

“From pavement and public steps improvements to measures to tackle parking issues, we have looked to respond to local issues being raised by our communities.

“Funding approved by community representatives will also complement the Council’s wider investment in improving local streets in areas like Yorkhill.”

Councillor Millar added: “This round of projects funded by our local Area Partnership can make a real difference to the look and feel of locations throughout our ward, as well as enhancing green spaces and biodiversity.

“The allocation of funding from our local Parks and Open Spaces Fund will improve green spaces across the city centre, from Townhead and Cowcaddens to Garnethill and Broomielaw, as well as in Yorkhill and Finnieston.

“And it’s great to have a focus on greening around our local primary schools in Anderston – especially at St Patrick’s Primary which sits immediately adjacent to the M8.

“I’m also looking forward to seeing suggestions from the local community about opportunities for street trees and tree planting locally – by allocating a tenth of our Neighbourhood Infrastructure Improvement Fund for trees and green infrastructure we are creating a real opportunity for greener, more pleasant streets right across Anderston/City/Yorkhill ward.”