Newton Mearns
Encyclopedia
Newton Mearns is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire
, Scotland
. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) southwest of Glasgow
City Centre on the main road
to Ayrshire
, 410 feet (125 m) above sea level. It has a population of approximately 22,637.
The town is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation
. Its name derives from being a new town of the Mearns (from Scottish Gaelic "a' Mhaoirne" meaning a stewartry, cf The Mearns)
Newton Mearns is the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire
and is mainly middle class.
) to the Maxwells of Caerlaverock around 1300. It then passed to the Maxwells of Nether Pollok in 1648 and then the Stewarts of Blackhall in 1660. A new turnpike road from Eastwood Toll, now the main Ayr Road, was constructed in 1832. From then on, with the introduction of improved roads and railways to the area, it became established as a growing commuter suburb of Glasgow.
Historical buildings in the area include the 15th century Mearns Castle, and the 1813 Mearns Kirk.
Regional Council in 1996, Newton Mearns became part of the new East Renfrewshire
Council area. As part of this area, it is represented by Jim Murphy
MP and Ken Macintosh MSP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
and the Scottish Parliament
respectively.
On more than one occasion, Glasgow City Council
has applied to the Scottish Boundaries Commission
to have Newton Mearns re-allocated to its control.
system for Scottish local council elections, it was planned that, in time for elections taking place in and after 2007, the town would be divided into two multi-councillor wards: Liboside and Newton Mearns North and Newton Mearns South. However, due to a number of complaints about the new divisions, the former was renamed Neilston, Uplawmoor and Newton Mearns North, in a move to keep Neilston
an integral part of the council. The current councillors for the areas are as follows:
for employment and shopping. However, there are a number of small businesses in the area, as well as an indoor shopping centre.
The Avenue Shopping Centre is the only large retail centre in Newton Mearns. It comprises a total of 44 stores, currently including two supermarkets, five banks, nine clothing stores and one sandwich shop. The line of the main mall at the Avenue runs the course of the old Mearns high street.
The newly constructed Greenlaw Village also has 2 supermarkets, Tesco
Express and Waitrose
.The Business park is still under construction which will also contain a hotel.
A Bleach
Works was constructed at Netherplace, the site of which is still visible from the M77 motorway.
extension was opened in the late 1990s. The motorway was completed despite strong opposition from campaigners in the nearby Darnley, Arden and Pollok districts of Glasgow
, who saw their communities divided by the new road. Transport links improved further in May 2006 with the opening of the Glasgow Southern Orbital dual carriageway, and its connection to the M77.
As well as minor and major roads, the town has bus links with the centre of Glasgow
, Kilmarnock
, and Ayr
. The town is served by two local train stations, Patterton
and Whitecraigs which both run trains to Glasgow Central station amongst others.
s, as well as one independent
secondary school:
Primary schools:
Secondary schools:
Newton Mearns, has a growing Muslim community which has been carrying out efforts to build a mosque.
clubs and rugby clubs. A public swimming pool and leisure centre is located at Eastwood Park in nearby Giffnock. Newton Mearns also has an amateur football club Newton Mearns Rovers A.F.C.; established in 1962, they are managed by Greig Taylor and compete in the Caledonian AFL League.
, a Scottish author best known for his BBC radio plays who grew up in the town and studied at Mearns Castle High School.
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) southwest of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
City Centre on the main road
A77 road
The A77 road is a major road in Scotland. It runs in a southwesternly direction from the city of Glasgow, past the towns of Giffnock, Newton Mearns, Kilmarnock, Prestwick, Ayr, Maybole, Girvan and Stranraer to the town of Portpatrick on the Irish Sea...
to Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, 410 feet (125 m) above sea level. It has a population of approximately 22,637.
The town is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation
Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...
. Its name derives from being a new town of the Mearns (from Scottish Gaelic "a' Mhaoirne" meaning a stewartry, cf The Mearns)
Newton Mearns is the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...
and is mainly middle class.
History
Until the 20th century, the land around Newton Mearns was primarily agricultural. Ownership passed from the Pollocks (whose name is perpetuated in the nearby Glasgow housing estate of PollokPollok
Pollok is a large district on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built to house families from the overcrowded inner city...
) to the Maxwells of Caerlaverock around 1300. It then passed to the Maxwells of Nether Pollok in 1648 and then the Stewarts of Blackhall in 1660. A new turnpike road from Eastwood Toll, now the main Ayr Road, was constructed in 1832. From then on, with the introduction of improved roads and railways to the area, it became established as a growing commuter suburb of Glasgow.
Historical buildings in the area include the 15th century Mearns Castle, and the 1813 Mearns Kirk.
Governance
Following the breakup of StrathclydeStrathclyde
right|thumb|the former Strathclyde regionStrathclyde was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc Act 1994...
Regional Council in 1996, Newton Mearns became part of the new East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...
Council area. As part of this area, it is represented by Jim Murphy
Jim Murphy
James Francis "Jim" Murphy is a British Labour Party politician and is the Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire....
MP and Ken Macintosh MSP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
and the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
respectively.
On more than one occasion, Glasgow City Council
Politics of Glasgow
Politics in Glasgow, Scotland, is evident in the deliberations and decisions of the city council of Glasgow , in elections to the council, and in elections to the Scottish Parliament and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom .In the European Parliament, the city area is...
has applied to the Scottish Boundaries Commission
Boundary Commission (United Kingdom)
Boundary Commissions in the UK are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the Westminster Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales. There are four boundary commissions in the United Kingdom: one...
to have Newton Mearns re-allocated to its control.
Councillors
As a result of the introduction of the Single Transferable VoteSingle transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system for Scottish local council elections, it was planned that, in time for elections taking place in and after 2007, the town would be divided into two multi-councillor wards: Liboside and Newton Mearns North and Newton Mearns South. However, due to a number of complaints about the new divisions, the former was renamed Neilston, Uplawmoor and Newton Mearns North, in a move to keep Neilston
Neilston
Neilston is a village and parish in East Renfrewshire set in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Levern Valley, southwest of Barrhead, south of Paisley, and south-southwest of Renfrew, at the southwestern fringe of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
an integral part of the council. The current councillors for the areas are as follows:
Neilston, Uplawmoor and Newton Mearns North
| Councillor | Party |
|---|---|
| Tony Buchanan | Scottish National Party |
| Charles Gilbert | Conservative |
| Elaine Green | Labour |
| Leslie Rosin | Conservative |
Newton Mearns South
| Councillor | Party |
|---|---|
| Barbara Grant | Conservative |
| Ian McAlpine | Labour |
| Jim Swift | Conservative |
Economy
Newton Mearns is a primarily a residential area, with most of its inhabitants travelling by car or public transport to GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
for employment and shopping. However, there are a number of small businesses in the area, as well as an indoor shopping centre.
The Avenue Shopping Centre is the only large retail centre in Newton Mearns. It comprises a total of 44 stores, currently including two supermarkets, five banks, nine clothing stores and one sandwich shop. The line of the main mall at the Avenue runs the course of the old Mearns high street.
The newly constructed Greenlaw Village also has 2 supermarkets, Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
Express and Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
.The Business park is still under construction which will also contain a hotel.
A Bleach
Bleach
Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
Works was constructed at Netherplace, the site of which is still visible from the M77 motorway.
Transport
Traffic through the town was reduced significantly after the new M77 motorwayM77 motorway
The M77 motorway is a motorway in Scotland. It originally began in southern Glasgow at the M8 motorway at Kinning park, and terminates near Kilmarnock at the village of Fenwick. However, changes were made in autumn 2005 segregating a lane on the M8 motorway almost as far as the Kingston Bridge,...
extension was opened in the late 1990s. The motorway was completed despite strong opposition from campaigners in the nearby Darnley, Arden and Pollok districts of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, who saw their communities divided by the new road. Transport links improved further in May 2006 with the opening of the Glasgow Southern Orbital dual carriageway, and its connection to the M77.
As well as minor and major roads, the town has bus links with the centre of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
, and Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
. The town is served by two local train stations, Patterton
Patterton railway station
Patterton railway station is a railway station serving the Patterton, Crookfur and Greenlaw areas of the town of Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire and the Deaconsbank and Jennylind areas of the City of Glasgow, Scotland...
and Whitecraigs which both run trains to Glasgow Central station amongst others.
Education
One factor that has made the town popular with families is the variety and quality of local schools. The town is served by four Primary schools and three High schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s, as well as one independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
secondary school:
Primary schools:
- Kirkhill Primary School
- St. Cadoc's Primary School
- Crookfur Primary School
- Mearns Primary School
Secondary schools:
- Eastwood High SchoolEastwood High School (Newton Mearns, Scotland)Eastwood High School is a public school situated in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire just outside of Glasgow, Scotland. It is on Capelrig Road and has 1500 pupils. The current head teacher is Mr. Stuart Maxwell...
- Mearns Castle High SchoolMearns Castle High SchoolFor schools of the same name, see Castle High School.Mearns Castle High School is a secondary school situated on Waterfoot Road in Newton Mearns, an affluent commuter town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland roughly seven miles from Glasgow. Built in 1978, pupils from Mearns Primary, Eaglesham Primary,...
- St Ninian's High School in GiffnockGiffnockGiffnock is a wealthy, dormitory suburb of Glasgow in the East Renfrewshire Council area, within the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
is the secondary school for Roman Catholic children in Newton Mearns, as St. Cadoc's Primary is one of its feeder schools
Religion
Newton Mearns, has numerous Christian churches principally Church of Scotland, Baptist and Roman Catholic churches and along with nearby Giffnock, is also home to a large proportion of Scotland's Jewish community, and there are both developing and Orthodox synagogueNewton Mearns, has a growing Muslim community which has been carrying out efforts to build a mosque.
Leisure
Newton Mearns contains a number of parks, most notably Broomburn Park and nearby Rouken Glen Park, and numerous golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
clubs and rugby clubs. A public swimming pool and leisure centre is located at Eastwood Park in nearby Giffnock. Newton Mearns also has an amateur football club Newton Mearns Rovers A.F.C.; established in 1962, they are managed by Greig Taylor and compete in the Caledonian AFL League.
Literature
Newton Mearns recently appeared as the setting for the thriller novel Aztec Love Song (Weathervane Press 2009, ISBN 978 0 9562193 2 9) by Marty RossMarty Ross
Marty Ross is a Scottish writer, best known for his audio dramas for the British Broadcasting Corporation, Big Finish Productions and for the Wireless Theatre Company and 3Dhorrorfi. He is also author of the 'Tartan Noir' thriller novel Aztec Love Song...
, a Scottish author best known for his BBC radio plays who grew up in the town and studied at Mearns Castle High School.