Charity quits Castlemilk over 'untenable' rent rise

A charity has closed its doors in one of Scotland's most deprived areas after its landlord raised the rent by 50% ahead of a supermarket development.

Sense Scotland had operated in The Braes Shopping Centre in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow for 25 years.

But the charity said it had to shut the store after the Scotsman Group raised rent costs "with no explanation".

The landlord said it planned to create facilities that local residents have wanted for more than a decade.

Last month, the Scotsman Group secured more than £3m in public funding to develop the dilapidated shopping arcade and attract a "household name" supermarket.

The company - which traded as the G1 Group until last year and runs hospitality venues across Glasgow and the central belt - bought the centre for nearly £3.4m in February 2020.

Since then, it has been in discussions with local community groups over plans to redevelop The Braes.

Residents have long campaigned for a supermarket in Castlemilk due to a lack of shops fresh and affordable food. The nearest supermarket is three miles away.

Angela Bonomy, executive director of Sense Scotland, said charity had opened its store in The Braes in November 1996.

It uses its stores, which sell low-cost clothing and furniture, to raise funds to provide support for blind, deaf and disabled children and adults.

"I feel disappointed at the way we were treated and I feel disappointed for Castlemilk as a community," she said.

"Ultimately, we had to leave because the landlord made it untenable to stay there."

Ms Bonomy said the charity had been told in mid-2021 that its rent would increase by about 10%, and was "prepared to work with that".

However, during the second half of the year, this turned into a 50% increase.

"That was just untenable for us as a charity, because we have the costs of employing staff, as well as the rent. And we want to make a profit in these shops that contributes to the running of Sense Scotland.

"We were paying £10,000 a year in rent and, ultimately, they ask of us was £15,000 a year in rent.

"Despite asking for a justification around that, there was no explanation at all."

She said the Scotsman Group wanted to offer a month-to-month lease arrangement, which offered "no security".

Atiq Rehman runs the New Gifto hardware store, which has served the community since 1969. He is also on a short-term lease.

Mr Rehman, who has operated the store since 2006, said he had a good relationship with his landlord - but that "uncertainty prevails" over his future at The Braes.

"The previous management offered me a lease of two years, but that is now over. This time, I'm just on a month-to-month basis."

The 61-year-old said this was "very worrying" and wondered if he would be asked to move somewhere else.

"If I am tied to a lease, they can't ask me to move to another part of the shopping centre," he said.

In February, the Scotsman Group was awarded £2m from the Scottish government's The Place Fund.

The scheme, which is delivered by councils, aims to regenerate town centres and improve local communities.

Glasgow City Council's entire allocation for 2021/22 is £3.69m. Other recipients included Govanhill Baths Community Trust, Tollcross Winter Gardens, Ruchazie Cafe and Feeding Britain, alongside three housing associations.

The Scotsman Group is due to receive a further £1.35m out of Glasgow's possible allocation of £3.2m in 2022/23.

Council leader Susan Aitken said the funding was the "final piece of the investment jigsaw" to securing a new supermarket for Castlemilk.

The council spokesman said it would benefit the local community, its businesses and its economy.

The Scotsman Group said the grant was for "very specific" road and infrastructure work.

It told the BBC it had also acquired four separate properties around the site, saved the local Post Office, and that with Glasgow City Council it had "painstakingly worked towards securing a sustainable future for the centre giving the residents what we hope will be facilities that they've been asking for for over a decade".

A spokesperson said: "Given the complexities of how the reconfiguration of the centre may take place there was no option but to only offer up short-term lets until such times as further clarification of the fuller development could be agreed."

It said it hoped to make an announcement on future operators within the next four weeks.

The Scotsman Group said it had committed to a multi-million-pound investment in the centre over and above the grant agreed by Glasgow City Council.

"This is at a time when many funders are shying away from any kind of investment in retail," it said.

"We have worked with the community council every part of the way who are aware of our plans and who have also been hugely supportive.

"This is an extremely good news story for Castlemilk."