The people who have waited years for a supermarket

The owners of The Braes Shopping Centre have been awarded £3.35m to develop the precinct and attract business

A deprived neighbourhood on the outskirts of Glasgow is on the brink of securing a major supermarket after a prolonged campaign by locals.

Council leader Susan Aitken has told residents to expect an announcement of a "household name" supermarket for Castlemilk.

It comes as Glasgow City Council awarded the owners of The Braes Shopping Centre £3.35m over the next two years to develop the precinct and attract business.

But it has taken three years of hard effort by residents to get a major store serving affordable fresh food.

The neighbourhood - on the south side of the city - is three miles from its nearest big supermarket, with locals relying instead on its dilapidated shopping arcade.

'Savings are swallowed up by travel'

Cathy Craig, 75, is a widow and suffers from arthritis. She lives on a pension income but with rising food and energy costs, she is seeing her disposable money being chipped away.

We accompanied her on a shopping trip to the local arcade, where the only fresh food on offer comes from a sole greengrocer and a butcher shop.

Elsewhere, locals rely on an Iceland and a B&M Store for fresh items.

The alternative, Cathy said, is travelling the three miles to Asda in Toryglen, which would cost upwards of £8 in a taxi for a return trip.

"Any savings I make by going to Asda are swallowed up by travel," she said.

"If you've got a couple of kids and you go to do your shopping, by the time you pay the bus fare to the shops, you are whittling away the money have to spend on food for transport."

She said: "Everything is more expensive. It used to be £1 for a carton of milk and it's now £1.29.

"Bread has gone up by about 10 pence as well."

'Alienated'

The housing association recently set up a focus group for tenants to discuss ongoing issues

According to the Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation, Castlemilk was in the top 10% of Scotland's most deprived areas in 2020.

Of 11,550 residents listed as living there, the area had 7,500 working age adults. More than 4,100 were "income deprived", with another 1,900 "employment deprived".

Ardenglen Housing Association is one of the area's social landlords. It recently set up a focus group for tenants, to discuss ongoing issues in Castlemilk.

When we visited, the biggest concerns were isolation, poor transport links and rundown facilities, as well as the lack of investment in The Braes Shopping Centre over decades.

During the meeting, member Karen McDonagh said: "I grew up here and we had a great shopping centre in the 60s and 70s. Obviously, when they opened Castlemilk at first, there was nothing here and now we are back to that state in this day and age.

"We are alienated. The buses are the worst. As for that so-called shopping centre, I laugh when I get on the bus and it says 'You are now at Castlemilk Shopping Centre'.

"There's not a shopping centre there anymore."

'Over-inflated prices'

Brian Kirkpatrick is a member of the food pantry

One of the ways Castlemilk is tackling the growing cost of food is the introduction a local pantry.

The project was set up by Ardenglen last summer and uses products thrown away by big supermarkets. It provides residents with 15 food items per week for a cost of just £2.50 - a basket that would normally cost about £14.

Brian Kirkpatrick, 67, is a former steel worker and a member of the pantry. He said his £1-a-year membership goes a long way.

"It's helps out with household bills and it can be a big saving on your shopping," he said.

Fiona McGovern, of Ardenglen Housing Association, said it initially planned to support 200 people but has found itself with more than 740 members.

"We don't have a proper supermarket that's affordable where people can get everything under one roof," she said.

"There is a reliance on some of the smaller shops who sell items at overinflated prices. For example, you get a loaf at £1.10, but in the shop, it might be £1.50."

'A food desert'

Annas Nadeem took part in his primary school's short film to demand a supermarket for the area

Local campaigners have been highlighting issues of Castlemilk's isolation and its lack of affordable fresh food for years.

In 2019, Annas Nadeem took part in his primary school's short film, It's Not Fair, which saw his P4 classmates demand a supermarket for the area.

Annas' role was to walk the distance from Castletom Primary to the nearest supermarket, Asda. It took him one hour and 26 minutes.

Walking the return leg with BBC Scotland, Annas, now 11, expressed surprise that Castlemilk is still missing out.

"Without a supermarket, people can't afford groceries and if people can't afford cars, they have to pay for taxis.

"And what about old people? How are they going to walk to the supermarket?"

Christine Devine and Maureen Cope have been spearheading the campaign to attract a big name supermarket

Maureen Cope is a community stalwart with a long history of activism for the community. She and her friend Christine Devine are on the community council and have been spearheading the campaign to attract a big name supermarket to the area.

"This is a food desert here in Castlemilk," said Maureen. "If you don't travel, you don't have an option."

For years, they spoke to developers and tried to work out who actually owned The Braes Shopping Centre.

When it was bought over in 2020 by the Scotsman Group, Maureen and Christine have kept in touch with the new landlords.

"We did public consultation way back in 2016 and if you were to stop anyone here today, they'd tell you we need a supermarket," said Maureen.

Both women are expecting an imminent announcement of a supermarket in the week.

'The Place'

Last month, members of the council's City Administration Committee approved a funding application by the Scotsman Group.

It was awarded £2m this year, with a further £1.35m next year, to develop The Braes in preparation for a supermarket.

The money comes from a Scottish government fund titled The Place to develop deprived communities and regenerate town centres.

The Braes was awarded nearly half of Glasgow's entire allocation of the fund.

A spokeswoman for the Scotsman Group said it had worked painstakingly with the council towards securing a sustainable future for the Braes centre, giving the residents the facilities they have been seeking for more than a decade.

She said the Scotsman Group had committed to a multi-million pound investment in the centre over and above the grant agreed by Glasgow City Council, at a time when many funders are shying away from investment in retail.

"The grant was made available for very specific works in relation to road and infrastructure requirements, without which we were unable to offer the community the facilities that they had been looking for," she said.

A council spokesman said: "Glasgow City Council worked with the Scottish government and other project partners to bring the funding from the Place Fund for The Braes project.

"This funding will bring environmental improvements to this shopping centre in Castlemilk, with significantly enhanced public realm and other changes there that will benefit the local community, its businesses and economy.

"These improvements will allow a much-needed supermarket to operate in The Braes shopping centre, a development that many people in this part of the city will welcome."