A canteen at Glasgow City Chambers has increased in popularity since a subsidised silver service dining room was scrapped.

The luxury buffet was abolished at the beginning of the month after being originally subsidised by money from the city's historic civic charity, the Common Good Fund.

The Evening Times revealed in February that the silver-service dining room, which was used by about 25 councillors a day, was to be scrapped – along with the £122,000 a year Common Good Fund subsidy.

That change took place on April 1, with little fanfare.

Councillors arrived at their dining room to find table cloths had been removed and they had to queue for their lunches with council workers, as well as senior officers.

But since its demise there has been a major increase in the number of people using the basic coffee shop, where they pay the full price for a menu of paninis and soup.

Green Party councillor Nina Baker was critical of the previous arrangements and preferred to take tea from her own flask rather than use the silver service facilities.

Today she said: "The whole atmosphere of the dining room has changed. It used to be made up of cliques who sat around the same tables every day.

"There were Opposition tables and tables for different groups of Labour councillors or senior officers.

"Now everybody lines up together and gets talking. This is really good for the council."

A spokesman for the council agreed.

He said: "There are still some changes to be made, but the new dining room seems to have been well received by staff and members."

The dining room is already operating on a commercial footing.

It will close over the summer for refurbishment and re-open as a normal coffee shop, one of several operated by Cordia, the council's arm's-length service firm, across the city.

david.leask@ heraldandtimes.co.uk