by Councillor Elspeth Kerr

Firstly I would like to wish all my constituents and all readers a very happy and healthy New Year for 2018.

I will start with the bad news. I am sorry to have to report that Anniesland Library has had to close due to water ingress.

The library will be closed until further notice and when I know anything more I will report back.

In the meantime I am looking for somewhere else to hold my surgery on the fourth Friday of the month in that area. Keep an eye on my Facebook page – Elspeth Kerr for Drumchapel/Anniesland – and Twitter (@ElspethKerrSNP) to find out where I will be.

With the weather being cold, and sometimes wet, snowy or icy, I would like to remind people to take into account that all services may experience difficulties in running as normal. I would also like to encourage the more able people to help out and look out for people who are less able, especially with using the grit bins to make pavements safe and bin sheds clear. Let’s be kind to each other.

Now the good news! Using Scotland’s Community Empowerment Act, Ted Scanlon and Community Partners have managed to rent the shop in the shopping centre that used to be Greggs. There are loads of things going on there.

The shop is to be a place of connection between local people themselves and between local people and the different organisations in Drumchapel.

The community shop is a step in the direction of attending to the vision of Thriving Places.

This is a 10-year vision for Glasgow where local people are to be at the centre of defining their own future in the place where they live.

This shop is a space where local people can come on a one-to-one or group basis to become more engaged about how Drumchapel should develop.

Please feel free to drop in. There is free tea and coffee and you may even get a bit of cake if you are lucky!

I will be having surgeries in the shop most Friday mornings too from 10am until noon.