THEY came, they saw and they promised: This is the start of a new era for the Gallowgate.

THEY came, they saw and they promised: This is the start of a new era for the Gallowgate.

A high-powered delegation of Glasgow Housing Association bosses, local councillors and MSP Frank McAveety toured the rainy streets yesterday afternoon on a fact-finding mission.

They admitted some of the area's homes were among the worst in Glasgow but vowed to put the pride back into the neighbourhood.

And they revealed GHA is setting up a special taskforce to get the redevelopment of the area moving.

Mr McAveety said: "Things have been stalled for a long time. We need to get GHA and the council to drive things forward. We need to redevelop the spirit in here.

"I get it all the time when I'm in here, that nobody's interested and nobody cares. But the Gallowgate is a very good location for residents and there's real potential to make a stronger neighbourhood."

Project manager Kevin Bryson, who has been brought in by GHA to assemble the team for the Gallowgate, said: "I will be working full-time to get the regeneration moving."

Few residents ventured outside in the rain yesterday, other than children who bluntly told the delegation, which included councillors George Redmond and Ruth Simpson, they wanted a new football pitch.

As a first priority, the delegation agreed the rundown flats at Comelypark Place and off Whitevale Street must be demolished as soon as new homes to replace them are ready in David Street and Melbourne Street.

GHA said private developers would then be invited into the area to build new homes and continue the regeneration. No final decision has been taken about the fate of the high flats in Whitevale Street but GHA said a decision would be taken in the near future.

Grandmother-of-seven Roseanne Jackson, 56, said regeneration had taken too long. She added: "We need to get the core community to believe there's a future here. There's nothing for the kids. You can build new homes but you have to provide something for the kids."

Margaret Crawford, 49, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said her biggest concerns were gangs, under-age drinkers and knife crime.

She said: "This was a good place at one time. I hope GHA and the politicians see what we have to live under. This area has been forgotten about."

The walkround was partly in response to pleas from Evening Times reader Angela Lauder, who last week called for the closure of the Bellgrove Hotel, one of the city's oldest homeless hostels, because of anti-social behaviour on the streets.

Councillor Redmond said that within weeks the owners of the Bellgrove Hotel would be invited to work with the council to find a solution in the best interests of the Gallowgate and hostel residents.

He added that much was happening in the East End in preparation for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, but the Gallowgate was not attracting enough interest from developers.

Jim Sneddon, GHA director of regeneration, said the 1970s-era homes "must be some of the worst in Glasgow".