Scottish Government must step in over the Red Road travesty

It is quite clear that the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Glasgow 2014, have paid no regard to the 15,700 people who have added their names to the petition on change.org.

Many supporters have added comments, and the theme is a universal condemnation of the proposal. Comments have come in from across the UK, and from other countries.

How has our country been viewed by people reading the press, listening to radio interviews and watching television ? What damage has been done?

I am very concerned as a result of a number of issues. Communications to Scottish Government ministers, and party leaders, remain unanswered. There has been no direct response from the leader of Glasgow Council either.

However, I am grateful to Patricia Henderson MSP for a courteous response, and also to a senior programme manager in Glasgow 2014 for returning my phone calls.

As a result of representations by Carolyn Leckie, who is to be commended for her unstinting energy to have this decision reversed, arrangements were made last week for a meeting to be held next Tuesday with an official from Glasgow Life. I am not clear who is attending that meeting. The purpose of that meeting, or so I thought, was to discuss our concerns.

Lord Smith of Kelvin, chairman of the organising committee for the Glasgow 2014 Games, was quoted this week as saying "that opponents' views have to be taken into account" and the organising committee was "awaiting the outcome of various deliberations before deciding".

However, you published a letter (April 10) from David Grevember, the chief executive of Glasgow 2014, which in my opinion made the position perfectly clear - the demolition will be part of the Games opening ceremony. How could this statement be made in advance of a well publicised meeting? It is disingenuous conduct.

This makes it perfectly clear that Glasgow 2014 is not interested in discussions, it is a done deal, or so it thinks. Transparency in all of this is vital, but it has not happened.

I participated in an interview on Radio 4. Another participant suggested that Glasgow will follow Beijing, London, Athens and others in having a sensational opening ceremony. He sang the same song when Carolyn Leckie was interviewed on TV.

I think he was suggesting that we will all get a "five-star demolition", and not a mediocre one, to rank with other previous opening ceremony celebrations across the world.

I conclude by saying again that the proposal is crass and appalling. Glasgow 2014 has to listen, and has to find a compromise. It is time for the Scottish Government to step in and show leadership.

LCH Bunton and the family of the late Sam Bunton,

The Lodge, Nether Cambushinnie, Cromlix, Dunblane.

THE Red Road flats were people's homes - for good or ill - and I, along with many others, object to them being used as a form of entertain­ment which will be seen the world over. The community who lived in those flats deserve to see their former homes come down with dignity.

In this important year for our nation, is this embarrassing debacle what Glasgow 2014 is going to be remembered for?

What is also coming to light is that this idea has been in the pipeline for more than two years, but nobody thought to consult the local people on their views.

There is also the logistical issue of evacuating nearly 1000 people from their homes that day for more than 12 hours to a local community centre. What about the elderly and infirm? What about those who want to simply watch TV in their own homes that night?

I hear the reassurance from the organising committee that it will be done with dignity. But no matter how they choose to couch it with a back story of regeneration and moving on, it still does not make it right that the demolition of these flats should be the focal point of the opening ceremony of a global event. I suggest that this is a social justice issue and a moral issue.

It is also a disgrace that one tower block is still being used to house asylum seekers. If these buildings are not fit for our own people to be housed in, then they should not be fit for anyone regarding their background or situation. How is the organising committee going to explain that one to the world? Are asylum seekers just seen as worthless people to Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government?

Pressure needs to be put on the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow 2014 organising committee to stop these plans and instead seek to find a better way of conveying the story of Glasgow which everyone can get behind.

Jennifer Wilson,

178 Glen More,

St Leonards,

East Kilbride.