Torrance, East Dunbartonshire
Encyclopedia
Torrance is a village in East Dunbartonshire
, Scotland
, located 8 miles (13 km) north of the Glasgow
city centre, the name of which comes from the Gaelic
An Toran which means 'under the hills'. Torrance used to mainly consist of farmland, but in 2001 had a population of 2,480 and this is expected to have increased in the 2011 census. The village was once famous as a resting place for workers on their way to the Campsie Fells 4 miles (6.4 km) north. The Forth and Clyde Canal
has a wharf in the village, and the A803 runs along its southern edge. The village has an active community charity whose aims are to improve the village facilities.
An Toran which means 'under the hills'.
The village of Torrance is located in 'The Eleven Ploughs of Balgrochan'. The 'Eleven Ploughlands' are part of the estate of the Grahams of Mugdock, which had been feu
ed in 1630 to local occupiers by the Marquess of Montrose
. The feuars, originally holding their their land unenclosed, each received an enclosed piece of land in 1735, as was common at the time. The village of Torrance developed some time later.
Although weavers
were among the earliest residents of the village, limestone
, coal
and ironstone
extraction also began to emerge as a local industry.
For several years, the canal wharf at Hungryside was Torrance's main connection with the outside world. However, this began to change in 1879 with the opening of a train station by the Kelvin Valley Railway Company.
won Milk Retailer of the Year in 2005.
Torrance has three pubs; the Wheatsheaf Inn, the Torrance Inn and the Village Inn with another bar in the bowling club.
The surrounding East Dunbartonshire area is also an affluent area with many new leisure facilities. East Dunbartonshire was voted the second best district in Scotland to reside in during 2007. Torrance had, for many years, an irregular once an hour bus service into Glasgow. However, on the 10th of June 2011 it was announced the community would benefit from better transport links. As it was, SPT operated a once an hour service, however, from the 19th of June an additional First service (27A) would operate 7 days a week at once an hour intervals. It will operate at around 25 minutes past the hour with extra journeys at peak times. First Glasgow have withdrawn their Service X86 from Torrance which operated twice daily, each way.
The land held in "trust" by Torrance Community Initiative for the benefit of the community is a 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) site. Unfortunately the planning permission granted in 1977 for a multi-use clubhouse for the former land owners - a boys' club, was never brought to fruition. The land was designated as Green Belt in the 1990s, although it forms an intrusion between two parts of the village and most people believed it was simply Greenfield, where legal restrictions on development are less severe. When people learned it was Green Belt, this became an emotive issue and the basis of the campaign against development.
Currently football can be played by youngsters on the grass pitch which is maintained by the council. The other main users are dog walkers, children playing etc. Torrance has some lovely areas of countryside to explore and allows for a huge and varied amount of wildlife to thrive. This land owned by the community has a moderate biodiversity as evidenced by recent surveys for bats and trees. The argument therefore is whether the loss of some open space with this ecological status outweighs a limited development for the benefit of the community. Some in the community see a greater community benefit by not building on it, while others are supportive of building. The Torrance Community Initiative is committed to the preservation of green belt, but believes the community would be better served from using some of the land for a custom-built centre, funded by building a limited number of houses. While the council initially were supported the aims of TCI in the believe that the village wanted a new centre, it withdrew that support following a campaign against TCI's proposals.
The draft of the new Local Plan has removed any reference to a review of leisure facilities and states that people in Torrance do not want a new community centre. Since then the council has proposed the closure or community take-over of the larger of the two halls. Neither community hall is listed and both suffer from neglect and lack of resources over many decades. East Dunbartonshire Council said that they will not build a new centre nor upgrade the existing ones. However, a council official agreed that anything was possible and that potentially they could be upgraded. It is highly unlikely that the current or any future council will consider doing this. Meanwhile the football team has ceased to play matches on the pitch as regulations require running water and electricity to be provided.
Outline planning for the new community facilities was rejected by East Dunbartonshire council in May 2008. This included the residential development of 20–40 houses to fund for the community facilities on a 9.8 acres (39,659.2 m²) site held in trust for the community by the Torrance Community Initiative. Reasons for rejection were that the land is designated greenbelt and the council had not yet done a long overdue review of current facilities as identified in the Local Plan.
The MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden
is Fiona McLeod
of the Scottish National Party, who was elected on 5 May 2011.
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
, 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...
, located 8 miles (13 km) north of the 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, the name of which comes from the Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
An Toran which means 'under the hills'. Torrance used to mainly consist of farmland, but in 2001 had a population of 2,480 and this is expected to have increased in the 2011 census. The village was once famous as a resting place for workers on their way to the Campsie Fells 4 miles (6.4 km) north. The Forth and Clyde Canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
has a wharf in the village, and the A803 runs along its southern edge. The village has an active community charity whose aims are to improve the village facilities.
History
The name comes from the GaelicScottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
An Toran which means 'under the hills'.
The village of Torrance is located in 'The Eleven Ploughs of Balgrochan'. The 'Eleven Ploughlands' are part of the estate of the Grahams of Mugdock, which had been feu
Feu
Feu was previously the most common form of land tenure in Scotland, as conveyancing in Scots law was dominated by feudalism until the Scottish Parliament passed the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. Act 2000...
ed in 1630 to local occupiers by the Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
. The feuars, originally holding their their land unenclosed, each received an enclosed piece of land in 1735, as was common at the time. The village of Torrance developed some time later.
Although weavers
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
were among the earliest residents of the village, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
extraction also began to emerge as a local industry.
For several years, the canal wharf at Hungryside was Torrance's main connection with the outside world. However, this began to change in 1879 with the opening of a train station by the Kelvin Valley Railway Company.
Local amenities
Torrance offers local amenities to its residents including two hairdressers, tennis courts, health centre, mechanics, garden centre, bakery, a post office and newsagents not to mention the large and new Torrance Church of Scotland at the foot of School Road and St. Dominic's RC Church at the top. The local SPARSPAR
Spar , trades from approximately 12400 stores in 34 countries worldwide and is the world's largest independent voluntary retail trading chain. Spar was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan Van Well and now, through its affiliate organisations, operates through most European...
won Milk Retailer of the Year in 2005.
Torrance has three pubs; the Wheatsheaf Inn, the Torrance Inn and the Village Inn with another bar in the bowling club.
The surrounding East Dunbartonshire area is also an affluent area with many new leisure facilities. East Dunbartonshire was voted the second best district in Scotland to reside in during 2007. Torrance had, for many years, an irregular once an hour bus service into Glasgow. However, on the 10th of June 2011 it was announced the community would benefit from better transport links. As it was, SPT operated a once an hour service, however, from the 19th of June an additional First service (27A) would operate 7 days a week at once an hour intervals. It will operate at around 25 minutes past the hour with extra journeys at peak times. First Glasgow have withdrawn their Service X86 from Torrance which operated twice daily, each way.
Torrance Primary School
Torrance has its very own Torrance Primary which is a small school with around 250 pupils.Torrance Initiative
Torrance Community Initiative is a registered charity aiming to provide new custom-built community facilities in the village.The land held in "trust" by Torrance Community Initiative for the benefit of the community is a 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) site. Unfortunately the planning permission granted in 1977 for a multi-use clubhouse for the former land owners - a boys' club, was never brought to fruition. The land was designated as Green Belt in the 1990s, although it forms an intrusion between two parts of the village and most people believed it was simply Greenfield, where legal restrictions on development are less severe. When people learned it was Green Belt, this became an emotive issue and the basis of the campaign against development.
Currently football can be played by youngsters on the grass pitch which is maintained by the council. The other main users are dog walkers, children playing etc. Torrance has some lovely areas of countryside to explore and allows for a huge and varied amount of wildlife to thrive. This land owned by the community has a moderate biodiversity as evidenced by recent surveys for bats and trees. The argument therefore is whether the loss of some open space with this ecological status outweighs a limited development for the benefit of the community. Some in the community see a greater community benefit by not building on it, while others are supportive of building. The Torrance Community Initiative is committed to the preservation of green belt, but believes the community would be better served from using some of the land for a custom-built centre, funded by building a limited number of houses. While the council initially were supported the aims of TCI in the believe that the village wanted a new centre, it withdrew that support following a campaign against TCI's proposals.
The draft of the new Local Plan has removed any reference to a review of leisure facilities and states that people in Torrance do not want a new community centre. Since then the council has proposed the closure or community take-over of the larger of the two halls. Neither community hall is listed and both suffer from neglect and lack of resources over many decades. East Dunbartonshire Council said that they will not build a new centre nor upgrade the existing ones. However, a council official agreed that anything was possible and that potentially they could be upgraded. It is highly unlikely that the current or any future council will consider doing this. Meanwhile the football team has ceased to play matches on the pitch as regulations require running water and electricity to be provided.
Outline planning for the new community facilities was rejected by East Dunbartonshire council in May 2008. This included the residential development of 20–40 houses to fund for the community facilities on a 9.8 acres (39,659.2 m²) site held in trust for the community by the Torrance Community Initiative. Reasons for rejection were that the land is designated greenbelt and the council had not yet done a long overdue review of current facilities as identified in the Local Plan.
Crime
Torrance is a relatively safe area. Little crime occurs. On Thursday the 9th of June 2011 CCTV Cameras were placed around the Main Sreet along with singeage claiming Mobile CCTV is also in operation. There are several Neighbourhood Watch schemes in the area.Administration
Torrance is part of Ward 5 (known as Bishopbriggs North and Torrance) within East Dunbartonshire Council and is represented by three local councillors whose term of office will end in 2012.- Billy Hendry from the Scottish Conservative and Unionist PartyScottish Conservative and Unionist PartyThe Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...
- Anne McNair from the Scottish National PartyScottish National PartyThe Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
- Una Walker from the Scottish Labour PartyScottish Labour PartyThe Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
The MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden
Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Strathkelvin and Bearsden is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
is Fiona McLeod
Fiona McLeod
Fiona McLeod is a Scottish politician. She is the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Strathkelvin and Bearsden constituency...
of the Scottish National Party, who was elected on 5 May 2011.
Notable Residents
- Award winning voice over artist and actor Lewis MacLeodLewis MacLeodEuan Lewis MacLeod is a prolific Scottish character actor, who can be heard as the voice of a huge number of television commercials, movie trailers and cartoons in his native UK. He voices characters such as Sebulba from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Postman Pat...
. - Musician Tommy ReillyTommy Reilly (Scottish musician)Tommy Reilly is a Scottish singer–songwriter from Torrance, East Dunbartonshire. He gained recognition after winning the Channel 4 TV show Orange unsignedAct. Shortly after, Reilly's first single "Gimme A Call" reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week of release. Reilly...
External links
- Torrance web
- Torrance Community Initiative
- First Glasgow Torrance Timetables -Timetable Information for Torrance to Glasgow services.