LOCAL people are set to begin staging an occupation of derelict land used as the main location in the BBC’s Still Game today, in a bid to stop Glasgow City Council selling it for a private housing development.

Living Rent and Wyndford Tenants Union say the occupation in The Valley on Collina Street in Glasgow’s Maryhill will start at noon, matching the council’s original deadline for developer bids, although this has now been extended.

To comply with social distancing, one person at a time will occupy a tent on the site and a string of volunteers intend to maintain a presence round-the-clock until the council stops the sale and speaks with locals, who are considering a community buyout.

News of the occupation came as a surprise to local politicians during a well-attended online “town hall” meeting, watched on Facebook by nearly 2000 people earlier this week when council housing and regeneration boss Patrick Flynn said there was no option but to sell the land to private developers.

The community has two alternative proposals – a community buyout or a joint endeavour with a local housing association. Both options aim to build renewably heated social housing with integrated community functions and facilities – a showcase eco-development that could get under way in the year of COP26.

Living Rent member and Wyndford Tenants Union committee member Norman Cunningham said: “Wouldn’t it be something truly wonderful if a piece of land with houses that were seen as only fit for demolition was turned into a thriving community showcasing all the attributes needed to provide hope for future generations who want to make Scotland their home?

“A district heating scheme could be expanded to the rest of North Maryhill and would help the council comply with the Scottish Government’s zero-carbon policies for 2030.”

Living Rent (LR) – a Scottish union which advocates for tenants – helped secure the Scottish Government’s ban on Covid evictions in 2020. It is now running an online poll of Maryhill locals to decide which alternative scheme is most popular.

Cunningham, who backs a community buyout of the site, said: “The Valley site has lain empty for 13 years – ironically enough, that’s one reason it was ideal for Still Game filming. We cannot accept the council’s argument that it must be sold off right now during a lethal, year-long pandemic.”

The council revealed yesterday that the deadline for developers has been extended “due to current Scottish Government Covid-19 restrictions” but couldn’t give a new date for the deadline. A spokesperson said: “The site will deliver 125 new low-cost home ownership properties that will complement the wide range of affordable housing already built – and to be built – in the area.

“Low-cost home ownership properties cannot be sold to private landlords as there is strict assessment criteria for the purchaser and unless they meet this criteria (first-time buyer, income threshold and so on) they will not be permitted to purchase.

“When completed, most of the homes in the Maryhill Transformational Regeneration Area will be in the socially-rented sector, underlining the reality that affordable homes will be a feature of the entire regeneration area in Maryhill, and providing low-cost home ownership offers a choice for those who prefer to buy.”