Monday, March 23, 2026 — Edition No. 36 — The Cornmill Intelligencer

← Past Editions · Edition No. 36 · Monday, March 23, 2026

Today’s outlook: Greyhounds free, butterflies soaring, and hedgehogs crossing safely — it's a good day to be alive

News Scotland

Scotland Bans Greyhound Racing — and Fewer Than 30 Dogs Are Left to Celebrate

MSPs vote overwhelmingly to outlaw the sport, as rescue greyhound Oscar steals the show at Holyrood.

Oscar doesn't know he's making history. The 18-month-old greyhound, sleek and gentle-eyed, pads across the marble floors of the Scottish Parliament like he owns the place. He's a rescue — one of the lucky ones — and he's here with Lorraine Baker of the Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary to witness the moment Scotland said: no more.

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News Clydebank

Clydebank's Net Zero Homes Are Fully Occupied — And One Family Says It Changed Their Lives

All 88 social rent homes on the regenerated Clydebank East site are now occupied, making it the region's first and largest Net Zero Ready housing development — and a national award winner.

For one young mother in a five-bedroom house on the Clydebank East development, the difference is simple: her home is life-changing.

That was the word she used when judges from the Herald Property Awards visited the site — and they agreed. The development went on to be named Affordable Housing Development of the Year at the Herald Property Awards for Scotland 2025, beating strong competition from across the country.

Now fully occupied, the 88-home development on a former industrial site represents something increasingly rare in Scottish housing: a large-scale public project that arrived on time, on brief, and built to a standard that genuinely improves people's lives.

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News Clydebank

'A Dream Come True': Three Clydebank Teenagers Are About to Light Up the London Stage

Lucia Moran, Memphis Mulholland and Nina Konstantinou will perform at Cadogan Hall this Easter as part of Movies To Musicals

Three talented teenagers from Clydebank are preparing for the performance of their young lives — a London stage debut at one of the capital's most prestigious concert venues.

Lucia Moran, Memphis Mulholland and Nina Konstantinou will take to the boards at Cadogan Hall on Sunday, April 5, performing as part of Movies To Musicals, a Scottish theatre company that brings young performers together with professional musicians and West End talent.

The trio are among 60 young people from across Scotland making the journey south for an Easter weekend run that will see them perform hits from blockbuster musicals including Tina, Back To The Future, A Chorus Line and Dear Evan Hansen — backed by a 16-piece orchestra and sharing the stage with West End stars Jenna Innes, Jacob Fowler and Dom Simpson.

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News International

The World Just Got a Legal Shield for Half the Planet

The historic High Seas Treaty has come into force — and Scotland's own waters show why it matters.

In the cold waters off Gourock, volunteer divers have been pulling abandoned fishing nets from the seabed of the Firth of Clyde. Inside, they found hundreds of small sea creatures — starfish, pipefish, crabs — tangled and helpless in what conservationists call "ghost gear."

"Seeing all these wee critters just completely helpless, just completely covered up in net and line, it tugs at the heartstrings," said Jason Coles, skipper at Wreckspeditions Dive Charters, who helped lead the rescue operation.

It is a small, vivid snapshot of a problem that stretches across the entire planet. An estimated 640,000 tonnes of lost or discarded fishing equipment enters the world's oceans every year, accounting for roughly 10% of all marine plastic pollution. Until now, there has been no international law to protect the vast stretches of ocean that lie beyond any nation's borders.

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News International

Mexico's Monarch Butterflies Stage a Stunning Comeback — Population Up 64%

After years of alarming decline, the iconic orange-winged migrants have reclaimed swathes of Mexican forest — and given conservationists their best news in years.

Every autumn, tens of millions of monarch butterflies set off on one of nature's most extraordinary journeys. They travel up to 3,000 miles from the fields and meadows of Canada and the United States, crossing mountains, cities and deserts before arriving at the oyamel fir forests of central Mexico, where they cluster on branches so thickly that entire trees glow orange.

This year, those trees are more crowded than they have been in nearly a decade — and scientists are cautiously celebrating.

New figures released this week by Mexico's environment ministry and the World Wildlife Fund show that monarch colonies covered 2.93 hectares (7.24 acres) of forest this winter, up from just 1.79 hectares the previous year — a 64% increase and the largest area occupied since 2018.

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What's On Glasgow

Scottish Ballet's Starstruck Brings the Magic of Gene Kelly to Theatre Royal Glasgow

Scotland's national dance company celebrates Hollywood's greatest dancer in a dazzling show that's perfect for ballet newcomers and seasoned fans alike

If you think ballet isn't for you, Scottish Ballet would like a word. Their spring production Starstruck — landing at Theatre Royal Glasgow from 16 to 18 April — is a glittering love letter to the legendary Gene Kelly, and it might just be the show that changes your mind.

Think jazz, think Hollywood glamour, think Greek gods behaving badly — all set to the sparkling music of Frédéric Chopin, George Gershwin and Maurice Ravel, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra. This isn't dusty tutus and impenetrable mime. This is ballet at its most fun, its most glamorous, and its most accessible.

Starstruck tells a wonderfully entertaining story on two levels. In a rehearsal studio, a choreographer searching for the perfect ballerina falls head over heels for a dazzling newcomer — his Star Ballerina. Their real-life romance becomes tangled up with the ballet they're creating together: a retelling of the tempestuous love affair between Zeus and Aphrodite on Mount Olympus.

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News UK

Britain's Greenest Year in 150 Years — UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions Hit Lowest Since the Victorian Era

UK greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to their lowest level since 1872, as the end of coal power and the rise of electric vehicles drive a quiet green revolution — all while the economy has nearly doubled.

Here's a stat to stop you in your tracks: Britain now burns less coal than it did in 1600. That's the year Elizabeth I sat on the throne, Shakespeare was putting the finishing touches to Hamlet, and coal had only just become the country's main fuel source after an Elizabethan "energy crisis" triggered by a shortage of wood.

Four centuries on, the stuff is all but gone. A new analysis by Carbon Brief has found that UK coal demand fell by 56% in 2025 to just under one million tonnes — down 97% from the 37 million tonnes burned as recently as 2015, and 99.6% below the all-time peak of 221 million tonnes in 1956.

The collapse of coal is the most dramatic element in a broader story of decline — the good kind. Britain's total greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.4% in 2025 to 364 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, the lowest level since 1872, when Queen Victoria was on the throne and the country was still in the grip of the Industrial Revolution.

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What's On Glasgow

Barrowlands Buzzing — Sigrid, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and More Hit Glasgow This Week

Glasgow's legendary Barrowland Ballroom has three cracking gigs in four days — here's what you need to know

If your week needs a soundtrack, the Barrowland Ballroom has you covered. Glasgow's most beloved live venue is serving up three very different — and very brilliant — nights of music this week, kicking off with Norwegian pop sensation Sigrid on Monday night.

The Bergen-born singer-songwriter who burst onto the scene with "Don't Kill My Vibe" brings her electrifying live show to the Barrowlands on Monday. Now two albums deep and riding high on the success of How to Let Go, Sigrid has established herself as one of Europe's most thrilling pop performers — all soaring vocals, boundless energy, and the kind of stage presence that makes even a 1,900-capacity room feel intimate.

Tickets: Listed as sold out on the Barrowland website, though a "Find Tickets" link remains active — worth checking if you're feeling lucky. Doors open at 7pm.

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What's On Glasgow

Byres Road Festival 2026: Your Guide to Glasgow's Best West End Street Party

Live music, street food, and independent shops take over Glasgow's most famous thoroughfare as the Byres Road Festival returns this summer.

Byres Road is about to do what it does best — throw a party.

The Byres Road Festival returns this summer as part of WestFest 2026, Glasgow's month-long celebration of West End culture and community running throughout June. For one weekend, the famous stretch between Hillhead and Partick will be given over to live music, street food, family fun, and a full-throated celebration of everything that makes this neighbourhood one of the most vibrant in Scotland.

Thousands of visitors are expected to pack the road — and they are very much up for it.

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Dogs & Animals Wildlife

Oxford Scientists Discover Hedgehog Superpower That Could Save Thousands From Roads

University researchers find Britain's beloved hedgehogs can hear ultrasound, paving the way for humane deterrents to prevent road deaths

There are moments when one's alma mater makes one particularly proud, and this, I confess, is one of them. Researchers at the University of Oxford have discovered that the humble European hedgehog — that most quintessentially British of creatures — possesses a remarkable hidden talent: it can hear ultrasound at frequencies far beyond the range of human ears or even the family dog.

The discovery, published in the journal Biology Letters, could prove transformative for a species in desperate trouble. The European hedgehog was reclassified as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2024, with populations declining by up to a third across Europe over the past decade. In Britain's countryside, the picture is grimmer still — numbers have fallen by as much as 75% since 2000.

Road traffic is a major culprit. Up to one in three hedgehogs in local populations is estimated to be killed by vehicles, their instinctive response to danger — curling into a tight, spiny ball — being rather less effective against a Ford Transit than against a fox.

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News Scotland

Scotland's AI Strategy Has Landed — Here's What It Actually Means for the Economy

The Scottish Government has unveiled a five-year plan to make Scotland a global AI leader, with nearly 300 companies already in the sector and a projected £23 billion economic boost by 2035.

Scotland has thrown its hat firmly into the artificial intelligence ring. The Scottish Government published its new AI Strategy on 20 March 2026, setting out a sweeping five-year plan to harness the technology for economic growth, job creation, and the transformation of public services.

Launched by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, the strategy arrives at a moment when global AI investment is surging past the trillion-dollar mark — and Scotland, it turns out, is already better placed than many realise.

The headline figure is striking: independent analysis estimates AI could contribute £23 billion a year to the Scottish economy by 2035. But the strategy goes well beyond aspirational numbers, setting out concrete first-year milestones.

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News Scotland

Scotland Leads the Way as Newborn SMA Screening Begins

Scotland becomes the first part of the UK to screen all newborns for spinal muscular atrophy — a move campaigners say will transform lives

When Carrie Pearson raised concerns about her six-month-old daughter Grayce, who had suddenly stopped kicking her legs and attempting to crawl, she was told she was simply being an over-anxious mother.

It took until Grayce was 14 months old before she was finally diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2 — a rare genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness. In its most severe form, SMA can limit life expectancy to just two years without treatment. By the time Grayce was diagnosed, gene therapy was no longer an option.

"For what we've had to go through, I just want other parents to be saved that scary moment of diagnosis," said Grayce's father Tony, from Milton, Glasgow.

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What's On Glasgow

Food, Drink, and Fresh Air: Springfest Returns to Loch Lomond Shores

Two days of artisan food, craft drinks, live cooking demos, and family fun at one of Scotland's most spectacular waterfront settings — and entry is free.

Looking for something to do over the Easter long weekend? Consider this your invitation. Springfest, the Scottish Food and Drink Festival, returns to Loch Lomond Shores on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th April, bringing two days of artisan food, craft drinks, live cooking demos, and family entertainment to one of Scotland's most spectacular waterfront settings.

The festival brings together a bustling mix of street food traders, local producers, and artisan makers from across Scotland and beyond. Whether your weakness is freshly made street food, locally produced whisky and gin, or handcrafted goods, Springfest has you covered.

This year's lineup includes live cooking demonstrations from chef and author Suki Pantal, sharing her expertise in Indian cuisine on the Saturday, while expert chef Tony Alberti takes the stage on Sunday with free demos at 12pm, 1.30pm, and 3pm.

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News Clydebank

West Dunbartonshire Keeps Free School Music, Swimming and Community Lifelines as Council Tax Rises 7.8%

The council's 2026/27 budget protects a long list of community services — from breakfast clubs to bowling greens — even as it grapples with a multi-million pound funding gap.

Free music lessons. Swimming for primary pupils. Breakfast clubs. Citizens Advice. Foodbank funding. When West Dunbartonshire councillors sat down to set the 2026/27 budget on Wednesday 4 March, the question wasn't just how to close a £9.2 million deficit — it was which services would survive.

The answer, after three hours of debate, was: most of them.

The Labour administration's budget, passed by nine votes to seven, protects a striking range of community services that had faced the axe. Free music tuition in schools stays. So do swimming lessons for P6 and P7 pupils. Early start breakfast clubs continue, ensuring children can begin the day with a proper meal.

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News Clydebank

£600,000 Up for Grabs: West Dunbartonshire Community Groups Get Extra Time to Apply for Regeneration Grants

The deadline for the Pride in Place Impact Fund has been extended to April 12 — and community groups across the area are being urged to seize the moment.

If you run a community group in West Dunbartonshire and you've been eyeing up that draughty hall, that neglected public space, or that building crying out for a new lease of life — you've just been handed a reprieve.

West Dunbartonshire Council has extended the deadline for its £600,000 Pride in Place Community Grants scheme, giving voluntary organisations and community groups until midnight on Sunday, April 12 to submit their applications. The original cut-off was March 23.

The fund is part of a wider £1.5 million allocation from the UK Government's Pride in Place programme, announced in September 2025 and designed to support regeneration across West Dunbartonshire over the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years.

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