Glasgow Arts Hub Faces Rent Hikes, Tenants Fight Back

0:00On March 30, tenants at Glasgow's Trongade 103 Cultural Hub are pushing back against massive rent hikes from city property, the city, Council's property arm. These arts groups face an extra 700,000 pounds a year, four times their old rent and ten times the service charges, threatening to boot, outkeep players like Transmission Gallery and Glasgow Print Studio. The building got an 8 million pound public facelift back in 2009 to nurture grassroots arts. But now, least renewals have sparked. Fury. Last Wednesday at Holyrood, Labor MSP. Paul Sweeney grilled first minister John Swinning, calling city property out of control and urging intervention. To save the tenants, artists and orbs are reeling. One group, Glasgow Media Access Center, got just four weeks to decide after 17 years and had to relocate. Others signed short term deals under duress, while charities whisper about similar shig downs, like hefty repair bills after pouring in their own.

1:01Keshe. City property insists no one's being evicted, is just standard procedure, with rents still below market and talks ongoing for fair deals. They deny robe tactics, stressing board oversight and council policies, but critics slam poor maintenance and lack of public duty. Meanwhile, Scottish Greens plan a council motion next week for better support and scrutiny of these arms-length outfits. As negotiations drag on, the fight highlights tensions between commercial pressures and Glasgow's creative heartbeat. Will the powers that be step up to keep the culture alive?