Campaigners are calling on the council to fix street lights in Govanhill as residents feel “unsafe”.
Scotland’s tenants’ union Living Rent has said over 40 street lights in Govanhill are broken, leading to a feeling of insecurity in the area.
The union’s Govanhill branch is planning a night of action from 6.30pm tonight [Wednesday] to kickstart a ‘Light Up Govanhill!’ campaign. It has said the problem is a “sign of neglect” from the council.
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A council spokesman said there had been recent improvements to street lighting in the area, with £500,000 invested in 140 new lighting columns. He said regular maintenance of older columns is also carried out.
Union members, who will meet on Victoria Road, are planning to report all the broken lights together. They will also mark them with a sticker to indicate they require repairs.
Beatrice Onashile, co-chair of the Govanhill branch, said: “At Living Rent, we are committed to finding solutions to any issues which impact negatively on our communities.
“Members voted to have this issue dealt with in the area because it is both important for them to improve their neighbourhood and because they have to take matters into their own hands.
“In Govanhill, residents feel unsafe to move around their neighbourhood confidently when it’s dark due to broken street lights which are not repaired because of the negligence and incompetency of the city council.”
The union has said Govanhill lacks proper upkeep, with members also raising concerns over potholes and fly-tipping, making poorly-lit streets a safety hazard for people with physical disabilities.
It wants the council to set out a timeframe for when the community will see improvements.
The council spokesman said: “All installations of new street lamps are undertaken in accordance with national standards, which indicates columns should be placed on the pavement next to buildings to protect the column from vehicle collisions.
“The area also receives regular maintenance on older lighting columns and a number of faulty street lamps in Govanhill have been included in a programme of work that will be taken forward in the near future.
“We undertake regular checks on the city’s infrastructure, but reports from the public have a vital role in directing our efforts to where faults emerge across the city’s 74,000 lighting columns.
“If a faulty street lamp is identified then the quickest way for the issue to be dealt with is to report the incident via our website, through the MyGlasgow phone app or by calling the RALF hotline as soon as the fault is identified.”
In February 2021, the council installed a street light in a tree on Dixon Avenue, Govanhill. Living Rent has said the council has a history of installing several lights in inappropriate locations.
On that occasion, the council moved the light to a “more appropriate” location after the issue had been raised by members of the public.
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