The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Monday 20 January 2025
Home Office denies visas for Palestinian musicians, George Square revamp update, homeless refugee crisis warning, former police HQ to become flats + Smashburger Sauchiehall Street sudden closure
☁ Good Morning Glasgow! The Met Office forecasts a cloudy day with a high of 9C. Here’s Monday’s Wrap…
🎻 Celtic Connections opener was a delightful homage to Glasgow - Mark Brown reviews Thursday’s opening concert for The National.
🎶 A production of Bethlehem Calling due to take place at Tramway this week as part of Celtic Connections was dealt a huge blow with the Home Office refusing to grant visas to Palestinian performers. - Paul English, The Herald.
🏠 Officials have warned the growing homelessness crisis is unsustainable and the city cannot afford to keep taking the same level of asylum seekers after it was revealed hundreds of homeless refugees are travelling to Glasgow after being granted leave to remain. - Stewart Paterson, Glasgow Times.
👷♂️ George Square will be fenced off in March and April as statues are removed for restoration and the area is transformed. - Sarah Hilley, Local Democracy Reporter, Glasgow Live.
🚨 A man, 34, has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman and a teenage girl inside a Cambuslang flat before setting it on fire and jumping from the balcony. - Chiara Pollock, Glasgow Live.
👨⚖️ The verdict of a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the deaths of two young prisoners at Polmont Young Offenders Institute has found the deaths could have been avoided. - Amanda Keenan, Glasgow Times.
🛣 Sauchiehall Street is poised to be crowned Scotland’s ugliest eye sore with the return of the Carbuncle Awards. - Marc Horne, The Times.
🚓 The former police headquarters on Turnbull Street will be transformed into 31 flats after a planning application was approved. - Eszter Tarnai, Glasgow Times.
🏛 Meanwhile, the former Bank of Scotland building on Sauchiehall Street is on the market for £500,000. - Ava Whyte, Glasgow Times.
🐀 Glasgow is the worst city in Scotland for rat and pest reports, according to data obtained by Freedom Of Information Requests to every local authority in the country. - Jordan Shepherd, Glasgow Live.
🍛 Plans for a Moroccan restaurant in Finnieston have been submitted to the council. - Drew Sandelands, Local Democracy Reporter, Glasgow Times.
🤑 The public has been barred from knowing details of a private mystery cash donation to Glasgow City Council. - Sarah Hilley, Local Democracy Reporter, Glasgow Times.
🥪 Santa Lucia Deli on Byres Road’s bid to sell alcohol is up in the air over claims that the restaurant is leaving a “mess” in a close. - Sarah Hilley, Local Democracy Reporter, Glasgow Times.
🏘 Phoenix Centenary Court Ltd has been issued a “severe warning” by the council for putting 200 college students “at risk” by running unlicensed flats. - Drew Sandelands, Local Democracy Reporter, Glasgow Times.
📚 The opening of the new Parkhead Library has been delayed due to a technical commissioning issue. - Eszter Tarnai, Glasgow Times.
⚖ Emma Caldwell’s family will meet the First Minister and the Justice Secretary over concerns about who should lead a public inquiry into the police investigation of her murder. - Nick Forbes, Glasgow Times.
🛒 The Range has a new store in Pollokshaws. - Eszter Tarnai, Glasgow Times.
🍔 Smashburger on Sauchiehall Street has abruptly closed with all signage gone and the location erased from the firm’s website. - Lucy Jackson, Glasgow Times.
📰 What can we learn from two decades of drug consumption rooms in Vancouver? This week’s Sunday edition.
🤩 You can get free access to all of The Wrap’s extra content (the Culture Wrap, the Weekend Guide, the Sunday Edition & more) when you successfully refer three people. Find your unique URL here and see the leaderboard.
📌 The Glasgow Wrap Community Noticeboard
↳ Submit your news, events, shoutouts etc to be featured. This newsletter is designed to get the word out about what’s happening around Glasgow, so let us know what you’ve got on.