A dispute has broken out among Govanites over the future of St Gerard’s School in Southcroft Street.
Built in 1937, the red sandstone building is to be demolished, said a spokesman for Glasgow City Council (GCC).

 In its place a ‘multiplex’ will be built to house pupils from present primary schools:  Hills Trust, St Saviour’s, Copland and Broomloan. This is part of the city’s pre-12 consolidation strategy as announced in February this year.
Bids to build the new school had to be submitted by October 2.

In June, the LOCAL NEWS reported that over 300 former pupils had returned to the school to have a group photograph taken before the building was demolished. At the reunion which followed the picture session, some of them decided to fight the demolition as they felt the property could be used for the community benefit.

Anne Conway is a member of the Sursum Cordas, a group of former pupils who meet once a month and want the school building saved for community use.

Anne said, ‘Our feeling is that the red sandstone façade is in keeping with the architecture of the area, and that it would be a standing monument to what was there. A lot of people feel very strongly that Govan has already been destroyed by City planners. I don’t think anything that they built to replace Govan’s old buildings is an improvement. Why can’t the City Council see St Gerard’s as an asset?’

Anne added that if the whole building could not be saved then she would at least like to see the façade preserved, saying it would make a ‘fitting entrance’ to any new school building.

Derek Neilson, Chairperson of East Govan Community Council, disagrees. In a letter published in September’s LOCAL NEWS, Derek argued that ‘The current population of Govan could not sustain the number of primary schools in the area. Sentiment, fond memories and ‘days of auld lang syne’ are all well and good, but they cannot be allowed to blight the future well-being of Govan. St Gerard’s is now out of date and not up to modern standards. The present proposals for a new education complex are in keeping with efforts to rectify previous neglect of the area.’

Anne’s fellow St Gerard’s classmate Ian Darroch, now living in Nuremberg, Germany, said that he was ‘enraged’ by Mr Neilson’s letter and echoed Anne’s remarks about the mistakes made in the past by City planners. He said, ‘it has probably not occurred to them investigate the cost of retaining the old façade, rather than replace it with a concrete monstrosity.’ He added, ‘It goes without saying that the people of Govan have not been consulted.’

Glasgow City Council insists that a full public consultation was carried out before the pre-12 strategy was approved. Asked Anne, ‘How well publicised was this public consultation?’

 What do you think should happen to the building? Email: localnews@btconnect.com with your vote FOR or AGAINST demolition and any comments you have on the proposals including whether or not you feel consultation has been good.