Our campaign is back and our partners explain why they share our plans to build a better Glasgow

WILLIE HAUGHEY

CHIEF EXECUTIVE,

CITY CHARITABLE TRUST

IN its first year Streets Ahead made a difference to communities across Glasgow, and the City Charitable Trust looks forward to continuing to support the Evening Times' campaign over the next 12 months.

Glasgow is a city filled with local heroes, people who want to make a positive difference in their area.

This campaign has allowed the Trust and our partners to offer some of them a little assistance in their efforts towards making their communities better places to work, live and play.

At the launch of the first campaign I said that one good citizen can change their street for the better, and that if every street in Glasgow has one of those champions we can change the whole city for the better. I firmly believe that, and we are happy to help the very many great Glaswegians who work so tirelessly to improve their streets and surroundings for the benefit of their neighbours.

Last year we helped to clean up eyesore gap sites, we helped local people create community gardens and to organise clean-ups. But we know there is still a lot more to be done, and we look forward to working with Street Champions across the city to help them create a sense of real pride and ownership in their communities.

Any area looks better and its residents feel a sense of pride when they see a garden where once there was an overgrown gap site. And the fact that it is the local people themselves who are part of this transformation gives them a sense of ownership which is invaluable.

The City Charitable Trust has worked strenuously over the years to make Glasgow a better place and, through campaigns like Streets Ahead, we have been happy to work with our partners and the ordinary men, women, boys and girls of the city to continue to help improve the lives of all who live here.

I hope Streets Ahead continues to help support those who make this city great for many years to come.

ASSISTANT CHIEF OFFICER LEWIS RAMSAY, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SAFETY FOR STRATHCLYDE FIRE AND RESCUE

STRATHCLYDE Fire and Rescue's vision is to make communities safe places to live, work and visit. Streets Ahead provides an excellent opportunity to do this.

In recent years there has been a significant reduction in house fires, deaths and injuries. Firefighters have been working closely with a range of partner agencies to deliver important safety messages to local people.

One aspect that has been acknowledged is the role of the community themselves; to realise further successes, SFR needs the help of local people to look out for family members, friends and neighbours who may be at specific risk of fire and to refer these individuals for a Home Fire Safety Visit.

In these circumstances Streets Ahead provides a clear opportunity to work closely with the public and provide services to householders who would otherwise not receive support.

Statistics from last year's campaign reveal an increase in Home Fire Safety Visits within selected streets, and closer relationships have been built between local fire and rescue crews and the community.

Work done through Streets Ahead to regenerate gap sites and improve the look of an area does much to make people feel a lot better about where they live. Also, these activities assist greatly to reduce opportunities for indiscriminate fire setting, which often takes place where there is fly-tipping and a general disregard for the neighbourhood.

Local firefighters are delighted to be an important part of Streets Ahead and have been directly involved in nominating local streets and suggesting ideas for activities to increase requests for Home Fire Safety Visits, reduce house fires and minimise incidents of fire related anti-social behaviour.

I am delighted to confirm my full commitment to this innovative community safety project and look forward to working closely with the Evening Times to make our communities safe places to live, work and visit.

GORDON SLOAN, CHAIRPERSON OF GLASGOW HOUSING ASSOCIATION

STREETS Ahead is all about people taking pride in their community and working together to make their neighbourhood a better place to live.

That's exactly what GHA is all about and why we supported the campaign last year. We are proud to be supporting it again this year.

Last year, our tenants and factored homeowners really got into the spirit of the Streets Ahead campaign. People in GHA communities of all ages got their hands dirty and helped make their area cleaner or more attractive.

Community clean-ups, many of them inspired by the Streets Ahead campaign, were one of the huge successes.

Residents from Cardonald were one of many groups to pick up unwanted litter and keep their community clean. People living in Darnley and Govan also worked together to tidy their surrounding areas with great results.

In many other neighbourhoods, people young and old joined in with the spirit of Streets Ahead by getting involved in community allotment projects.

The campaign showcased GHA tenants enjoying their new allotments in Sandyhills in the East, Mansewood in the South and Scotstoun in the West, hopefully encouraging others to get into growing their own fruit and veg.

GHA tenants and factored homeowners brought a real boost to the Streets Ahead campaign when they entered their amazing gardens into one of the garden contests we held across the city.

This year I hope Streets Ahead will again inspire many others to play their part in making a difference to their area.

We'll be looking forward to lending a hand and working with our partners to get more community projects off the ground.

I'd like to congratulate the Evening Times on an outstanding campaign last year and for some terrific success stories.

Let's get more people involved this year and help make Glasgow an even greater place to live.

COUNCILLOR GORDON MATHESON, LEADER OF GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL

A KEY objective of this council is to make Glasgow a cleaner and safer city and we are delighted that the Evening Times has decided to continue its Streets Ahead campaign.

The council's own Clean Glasgow initiative has been up and running since 2007 and has been a great success.

Clean Glasgow is a campaign with a straightforward goal – to make our city and every neighbourhood within it a cleaner, safer place. It is built on a partnership with our communities and a shared responsibility for our environment, whether we are at home or school, at work or at play.

For the last five years, local schools, individuals, community groups and businesses have been rewarded at the annual Clean Glasgow award ceremony for their hard work and sustained efforts for keeping Glasgow beautiful and a better place to live and visit.

The Evening Times, via its Streets Ahead campaign, has created hundreds of Street Champions and I know that Glasgow will once again this year step up to this challenge with gusto.

Many Glaswegians are brimming with civic pride but unfortunately, as is often the case, it's the minority who let the rest of us down.

My hope again for the Streets Ahead campaign is for it to reignite the community spirit of old – all ages working together with a common goal – to make their community and surroundings a much better place.

Just think of the satisfaction of planning, developing and working on a community project – however big or small. Let's all make a difference in our local community.

Many of our schools have dreamed up some wonderful ideas – from litter picks and wildlife gardens to road safety campaigns – and the young people are already acting on their plans and taking an active role in their community.

So, I want to urge all Glasgow citizens to continue to back the campaign over the next 12 months – we can all do our bit. I certainly will be seeing what I can do help out in my community and constituency.

Join forces with local groups, schools or businesses and let's really make Glasgow flourish.

TONY CARLIN - EVENING TIMES EDITOR

THE Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign aims to make a positive difference in every community in Glasgow.

Across the city there are already hundreds of people doing their bit to improve their areas. And last year when we launched our first Streets Ahead campaign we helped assist some of those Street Champions in their efforts by giving them some of the resources and support they need to bring their visions to fruition.

We helped them to organise clean-ups and plant community gardens, we helped fund street parties and to encourage wildlife.

And, as we launch this year's campaign, we want to encourage even more people to get involved in their communities, whether by improving their streets by planting gardens or joining in clean-ups.

Most importantly we want to hear the suggestions of those volunteers, our Street Champions, about what sort of projects will make a difference in their area.

What might be best for a street in the West End might not be best for an area in the South Side, and what's best in a street full of tenements might not be best for a street of homes with gardens.

Maybe a wall mural or a community garden or graffiti removal or window boxes are what your community needs.

The Streets Ahead campaign will help you to achieve that goal.

We want to hear from you, whether you're an individual, a business or an organisation such as a youth or church club or a community council, about what we can do to help you improve your local area.

Building better communities across Glasgow will give each and every one of us a city we can all be even more proud of.

By working with our partners, we will make a difference. By supporting and encouraging positive change in every street we can change our great city for the better.

STREETS AHEAD, our award-winning community campaign, is back for a second year – and it promises to be even more spectacular. The Evening Times is delighted to welcome back its campaign partners – Glasgow Housing Association, City Charitable Trust, Glasgow City Council's Clean Glasgow campaign and Strathclyde Fire and Rescue. Here, they join editor Tony Carlin to explain why they are backing our plans...