Glasgow’s former meat market is being developed into a social hub with bars and sports facilities

A historical site including Glasgow’s East End is being developed thanks to an investment by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Transcript

00:00Do you know about the Bellgrove Meat Market? You may have seen a huge abandoned structure behind

00:04a locked gate just down from Duke Street in the Galley Gate and this used to be a major livestock

00:09and trading hub. It opened in the East End in 1817 while the main market building dates back to 1870

00:16so it's a really historic part of the city. Well, it's on a huge chunk of land and recently

00:22Glasgow City Council announced regeneration plans to transform the area into a thriving hub

00:28after receiving over £2 million in support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

00:33The B-listed structures are due to be restored and developed into a multi-use site including sports

00:39facilities, bars, a learning centre and heritage displays. A council spokesperson has emphasised

00:46how important the market is in Glasgow's collective memory stating how many of us have past family

00:52connections to a variety of businesses that were active on the site. The meat market served primarily

00:58as a livestock market with facilities for cattle, an abattoir and a meat market. It sold fresh meat as

01:05well as frozen imported meat from places as far as Uruguay and Argentina. It was one of the last

01:11remaining meat markets in the UK until it completely closed in the 1980s. So the Victorian sheds are to

01:18be restored and developed into community spaces. We spoke to a few of the surrounding cafes and pubs who

01:24were generally pleased with the plans, hoping they'd attract more people east. Deniston is a part of

01:29the city that has faced many gentrification accusations in recent years, so I suppose how much is too much

01:36and how can we develop places in ways that retain the character of the neighbourhood? What do you think

01:41about the plans and what would you like to see here?