19/5/2008Too little too late
TRADERS campaigning to save Glasgow's Paddy's market were today told: "You're too late." Some of the stall holders at the Bridgegate market, due to shut in the autumn, have launched an online petition.
They want the city council to rethink its decision and say they'll help transform the area, which is a renowned hub of criminal activity.
Between 2005 and 2006 there were 314 drug possession cases, 268 breaches of the peace, 29 robberies, 96 thefts, 89 assaults, 46 cases of police assault and resisting arrest and one attempted murder.
However, Brian Daly, chairman of Paddy's Market Committee, says the traders want to help the area clean up its act
He wrote to councillors and landowners Network Rail saying the traders could set up a management company and would take a zero-tolerance policy on illegal trading.
They said they would work to reduce vandalism and fly-tipping and improve the appearance of stalls. But councillor Gordon Matheson said: "The area has the worst crime figures in the city.
"I wish the traders had put as much effort into clearing it up in recent years as they are putting into presenting themselves as victims.
"I fear this is too little too late and that this area requires an overhaul. That said, officials will consider whatever traders present to us."
The council now plans to replace the rundown market with arts and crafts shops and foreign food stalls.
Today they said they would try to accommodate reputable traders from Paddy's in the new-look market.
But that did little to placate the angry stallholders.
Daly, who blames the crime on the nearby Hope House hostel, said the first they knew about the closure was when they read it in the Evening Times.
He said: "We found it strange our livelihoods were being debated behind closed doors without any reference to us.
"We don't want the council to go ahead with its plans because we don't believe the reasons put forward are just, let alone right."
Hazel McGeachin, 48, has run a stall at Paddy's for 20 years. She said: "The market's part of the culture of Glasgow and it's my livelihood.
"They say it's a crime-ridden midden and a drug den but it's not.
"We're willing to work with the council but they've never involved us or asked for our opinion."
A spokesman for the owners said: "Network Rail has received a letter from the tenants and will discuss the contents with them in the near future."
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council added: "The criminal problems have been ongoing and worsening for years, and any attempts by the traders at managing these problems internally has been unsuccessful."
The petition, signed by 300 people, can be found at savepaddysmarket.org.
They want the city council to rethink its decision and say they'll help transform the area, which is a renowned hub of criminal activity.
Between 2005 and 2006 there were 314 drug possession cases, 268 breaches of the peace, 29 robberies, 96 thefts, 89 assaults, 46 cases of police assault and resisting arrest and one attempted murder.
However, Brian Daly, chairman of Paddy's Market Committee, says the traders want to help the area clean up its act
He wrote to councillors and landowners Network Rail saying the traders could set up a management company and would take a zero-tolerance policy on illegal trading.
They said they would work to reduce vandalism and fly-tipping and improve the appearance of stalls. But councillor Gordon Matheson said: "The area has the worst crime figures in the city.
"I wish the traders had put as much effort into clearing it up in recent years as they are putting into presenting themselves as victims.
"I fear this is too little too late and that this area requires an overhaul. That said, officials will consider whatever traders present to us."
The council now plans to replace the rundown market with arts and crafts shops and foreign food stalls.
Today they said they would try to accommodate reputable traders from Paddy's in the new-look market.
But that did little to placate the angry stallholders.
Daly, who blames the crime on the nearby Hope House hostel, said the first they knew about the closure was when they read it in the Evening Times.
He said: "We found it strange our livelihoods were being debated behind closed doors without any reference to us.
"We don't want the council to go ahead with its plans because we don't believe the reasons put forward are just, let alone right."
Hazel McGeachin, 48, has run a stall at Paddy's for 20 years. She said: "The market's part of the culture of Glasgow and it's my livelihood.
"They say it's a crime-ridden midden and a drug den but it's not.
"We're willing to work with the council but they've never involved us or asked for our opinion."
A spokesman for the owners said: "Network Rail has received a letter from the tenants and will discuss the contents with them in the near future."
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council added: "The criminal problems have been ongoing and worsening for years, and any attempts by the traders at managing these problems internally has been unsuccessful."
The petition, signed by 300 people, can be found at savepaddysmarket.org.