Castlemilk takes fight for healthy food to MPs

Campaigners seek supermarket for food desert

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Campaigners seek supermarket for food desert Castlemilk Board wants to provide locals with better nutrition options

Castlemilk residents have taken their fight for access to fresh, affordable food to the Westminster Parliament.

They secured a Westminister Hall debate, sponsored by local MP Gordon McKee, on the subject of ‘Inequality of access to fresh and nutritious food’

The community on the south side of Glasgow has been pressing to secure a supermarket for the area for more than six years, which has been described as a ‘food desert’ by local campaigners, but no progress has been made so far.

Leading the debate Mr McKee said: “Castlemilk is a proud and resilient community, built in the ashes of the Second World War. It was first built to combat inner-city housing pressures in Glasgow.

“The development offered indoor plumbing, heating and what was then a vastly improved standard of living. The people who lived there built something that bricks and mortar could not: a community — a place where neighbours looked after each other's weans, as we say in Glasgow, took in messages for grannies and coached football for the teenagers.

“That community spirit has built local organisations, rebuilt social housing and renovated a football stadium.

“However, there is one challenge that Castlemilk has not yet overcome: the lack of a supermarket. That might sound like a simple ask, but to understand why Castlemilk does not have a supermarket, we have to take a step back.

“Let me paint a picture of what life is like for the 15,000 people who live in Castlemilk.

“It is one of the most isolated areas in Glasgow. Despite being just five miles from the city centre, there is no train station, just unreliable buses, and the nearest supermarket is three miles away.