Celebs Try to Save Glasgow's Otago Lane

Gaiman, Teenage Fanclub, Belle and Sebastian

Celebrities including Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer and Teenage Fanclub have come together to save a historic corner of Glasgow threatened by developers.

Otago Lane is the home of Tchai Ovna tea house where Franz Ferdinand and Belle and Sebastian played early gigs, as well as the bookshop Voltaire and Rousseau, beloved of writers like Alistair Gray and Margaret Atwood. Even the Reverend Ian Paisley is a keen customer.

A representative of the developer, Mr Hugh Scott (former owner of Greenock football club) has argued that it is because of the Bohemian quality of the lane that it is perfectly suited for development, and claims that this would include an improvement of existing facilities.

Owners of the small businesses affected say that they will be forced to close if the development goes ahead. This would be devastating for the city's creative community.

Scott's plans include building a luxury residential development and several retail units. However this would involve building onto an historic old stable building and would reduce access to the area, which has local residents worried. It would also compromise an important wildlife corridor on the banks of the River Kelvin.

"It's awful," said Palmer, who has enjoyed visiting Tchai Ovna for tea. She has pledged her support to a campaign which includes over 4,000 people in its Facebook group alone. Residents are united in their opposition to the development and concerned that they did not find out about it until the campaign began. They are now anxious to see the City Council reject the plans.