Monday September 7th 2026
Former McVities factory, Tollcross
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Drew Sandelands
A £1m donation from the owners of the former McVitie’s factory in Tollcross will fund projects aimed at tackling poverty — but there are concerns that community wishes have been ignored.
Pladis, the global snacks foods company, announced its plan to close the biscuit factory in 2021 due to “excess capacity” in the UK. Around 500 jobs were lost when the factory closed in 2022.
It later emerged that the firm had offered £1m to the council to invest in the area, with councillors accepting the money in January last year. They have now agreed to split the cash between four projects.
Over £411,000 will be used to provide finance and welfare advice at Parkhead health hub while nearly £210,000 is being spent on helping school leavers to secure training, education or employment opportunities.
The Scottish Pantry Network will receive funding to provide 500 healthy meal kits to families each week, and just under £190,000 will be invested into play and open space activities in the area.
Recommendations were made following a meeting of the Shettleston and Calton area partnerships, as both council wards have been affected by the closure.
However, two local Labour councillors are concerned the approved projects are not reflective of their constituents’ priorities. Councillor Cecilia O’Lone, who represents Calton, said members of the community at the meeting “were quite surprised at what was put forward in front of them”.
“The only stuff that I actually saw about the consultation, the priority was around play and open spaces, but it’s the lowest funded part of this, despite it being what the community asked for,” she said.
Councillor Jill Pidgeon, who represents Shettleston, said: “The proposals that have been put forward, while valid and useful to the area, are not a reflection of what the community [wanted] and certainly not a reflection of what is in my inbox.”
“Ultimately my concern is this has directly affected my ward and people that I speak to, and community councils, they didn’t feel the process of the area partnership consultation was really reflective of conversations they wanted to have,” she added.
Cllr Pidgeon said local residents wanted to see work on the glasshouse at Tollcross Park. “I really don’t think this paper and how this money has been awarded is what most of the people, or certainly almost all the people in Shettleston who have contacted me about it, are looking for,” she said.
A council official said a report to the city administration committee, which approved the use of the funding on Thursday, summarised the “decisions that were endorsed by two area partnerships”.
Council leader Susan Aitken, SNP, said the funding was revenue, rather than capital, so couldn’t fund repairs to the glasshouse. “I’m not sure it would have gone very far even if we were able to spend it on something like that,” she added.
A welfare rights adviser, a family finance adviser and 12 community money guiders will be recruited to serve the three GP practices within Parkhead health hub.
It is hoped they will improve financial literacy and confidence, reduce financial stress, boost mental health and help with access to welfare entitlements and debt resolution.
Work to support school pupils to secure a training course, an apprenticeship, a place at college or university or an offer of employment, before leaving school and up to a year after leaving school, will have a particular focus on Eastbank Academy. A youth development officer will be employed.
A council report stated it has “consistently underperformed against Glasgow, Scottish and neighbouring school averages, highlighting the need for additional intervention to improve young people’s future prospects”.
The Scottish Pantry Network will receive £190,000 to help provide 500 healthy meal kits per week. Two 12-month trainee posts will be created to offering practical experience in meal kit preparation, logistics, stock management, community engagement and administration.
A volunteer programme to train at least 50 people, providing food preparation and customer service experience, is planned as well as twice-weekly cookery classes, in six-week blocks throughout the year, to help families develop skills.
These projects will be targeted at Tollcross families and residents affected by the McVitie’s factory closure, the council report added.
Calton and Shettleston area partnerships, which include councillors and community representatives, will be able to decide how money is spent on play and open space activities.
Councillor Greg Hepburn, SNP, who represents Calton, said both wards have “had great issues with child poverty”. “This paltry amount of money we got [from Pladis], it was seen as a nice thing to do to try to help kids out, try to make it a bit better for them,” he added.
The former McVitie’s site is earmarked for housing in Glasgow’s draft development plan. The site was reportedly sold to Clowes Developments in 2024 and demolition work has been carried out.
The draft plan, which is currently open to representations from the public, states over 200 homes could be built on the land. It is viewed as a long-term project which could be delivered in the final three years of the 10-year plan.
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