RESIDENTS in Oatlands are angry a historic church in the area could be demolished.

Inside St Margaret’s on Polmadie Road a memorial plinth lists the names of local men who died in the First World War.

Annette Findlay, who is leading the fight to save the memorial, said: “We’re so disappointed and sad that the church might be demolished.

“This is the only part of old Oatlands that’s left. Everything else has been torn down, rebuilt, taken away. And we all know what’s going to happen if the church is sold and demolished. More houses.

“Even if the church has to go, we will fight to save that war memorial.”

Glasgow Times: St Margaret's ChurchSt Margaret's Church (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

St Margaret’s closed as a church in 1984. Glasgow City Council made a compulsory purchase of the building in 2005, after years of it falling into decline.  

The hope was to turn it into a community centre to serve the 700 new homes developed in the area, but funding never materialised and the church remained on the Buildings At Risk Register.

A temporary centre beside the B-listed building was created with council funding of £180,000 in 2016.  

“It’s a real shame the church can’t be turned into a community centre,” said Annette, whose parents were married there in 1952. “If they did that, they’d have to turn people away, it would be so busy.

“But we’ve been told there’s no money. It's a disgrace. So much more could be done.”

Annette, who has a son, Michael, and daughter Kirsty, who are both backing their mum in her fight, was “born and bred” in Oatlands.

“I lived in old Oatlands for 40 years, and it was a really tight-knit community. I had to move because they were pulling all the houses down,” she says. “Now I’m in new Oatlands, and it’s very different.

“But it’s a nice community, still, and everyone is friendly. My brothers and sisters all stay here too, we’re inches away from each other.”

The community’s aim is to create a memorial garden where the stone can sit permanently, adds Annette.

“We’ve got a local stonemason who has said he is happy to help,” she says. “The memorial remembers men who died in the First World War, who lived in the red sandstone tenements of Oatlands. I know some people will say, och, it’s just a memorial, what does it matter? But history is important, and this is all the history Oatlands has left.

“I will fight tooth and nail to make sure it is not lost.”

A council spokesperson said: “There are currently no plans to demolish the church. We are working towards marketing the church building. As it is B-listed, any demolition would have to be approved by Historic Environment Scotland.

“The conversion to a community centre option was thoroughly investigated - with the expert assistance of the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust - a decade ago and was found to be unaffordable in both capital and revenue terms.  The current hub was agreed by the community and is currently well-used and meets community needs.

“It would be too dangerous and expensive to remove the former war memorial at present as it is built into an interior gable wall. 

Glasgow Times: The war memorial as it was several years agoThe war memorial as it was several years ago (Image: Colin Mackie)

“The memorial’s fittings were removed for safe-keeping.  It does not appear on any list of Scottish War Memorials, as far as we know.  There are 14 names carved onto a plinth.

“If at some point the church was to be demolished, then it could be salvaged at an additional cost.”