Dennistoun denizens delight in cool neighbourhood status

Forget about Finnieston. Step aside Strathbungo. Glasgow has a new coolest area. And according to Time Out magazine, Dennistoun is not just the hippest area of the city but the eighth coolest neighbourhood on the planet. The magazine’s annual survey described it as feeling like a “secluded island” in the East End of the Glasgow. But what is all the fuss about? STV News spoke to local residents and businesses to see why Dennistoun’s charming blonde and red sandstone tenements can now be mentioned in the same breath as Downtown Los Angeles and the hippest neighbourhoods of Barcelona, Hong Kong and Melbourne. Traditionally a working-class neighbourhood, Dennistoun is perhaps best known for the Necropolis….its colourful murals and its brunch spots. Time Out heaped praise on the eating and dining options in the vicinity, particularly on its buzzing central artery Duke Street. Poppy Murricane owns a vegan bakery just off the thoroughfare, along from Bellgrove railway station. Speaking as she positioned a matcha mint chocolate cake on display and preparing a signature rose latte, Murrincane said the Time Out accolade was amazing news. She said: “I can believe it because it is a really cool neighbourhood but, yeah, it’s just a shock. “It feels like a very small place so to be picked out of the whole planet as the eighth coolest neighbourhood is pretty wild but yeah, I don’t doubt it for a second, it is.” Time Out also cited the area’s community spirit, fostered by initiatives such as the Zero Waste Food Market. Customers don’t encounter any plastic packaging as they shop for their fruit, vegetables and lentils. They are also encouraged to refill their washing up liquid and dried foods such as rice and pasta. Graham Sharp, who runs the shop, said: “I don’t know how they come to these decisions or why we’re eighth and Paris is ninth or whatever. “But Dennistoun is a great place to live and work, we’ve got a great set of customers, a load of good small businesses that are independent and just starting out, so it’s a really good community and a great place to live, aye.” Dennistoun has gentrified at a rapid pace over the last decade. And some long-timers say that is a good thing. Local councillor Allan Casey said: “Over the last kind of 10 years, if you were in Duke Street, it would have been a different place to (as) it is just now. “But certainly it’s changed for the better and the regeneration of the area has been fantastic and we’re getting a lot of people coming to Dennistoun as a destination now, whereas that wouldn’t have been the case before – people maybe would have maybe went into the city centre for eating and drinking and stuff like that, so it’s become a destination place.”