Weren't they trying to get rid of Glasgow's high rises?

[Vladimir]

I think you'll find that I said that first.

Ach, sorry. I should read more carefully...

[spokes]

I missed the Stirlingfauld flats demolition http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7427886.stm this morning but I'd been cycling past them the other day and it seemed like only a matter of time, them all wrapped up in black plastic sheeting and windows like poked-out eyes. I'm sure that they had become awful places to live, but the quotes on the BBC from people who had fond memories were quite sad.

I was wondering, is it the general plan to take down all the high-rise estates across Glasgow? Seems like quite a few have come down in the 15 years since Basil Spence's Hutchie C's, and I remember reading that the Red Road ones are due to come down soon as well.

I was just wondering if there was anybody else here who feels like at least something should be saved for posterity. When these places were built it was with a huge amount of optimism and faith in progress. Some of the developments were the biggest in Europe, eg. the Red Road flats being the tallest residential buildings in Europe, and I think I remember reading that Easterhouse was once the largest social housing project in Western Europe. When the problems developed they became internationally notorious, and much has been written trying to understand why these schemes failed. I guess I just hope that the same mistakes aren't repeated in the future and that at least something remains as a reminder of post-war development and the way of life of so many people in Glasgow and across the UK.

Great website by the way!

[onyirtodd]

I don't know about any of the others but the high rise flats at the old Anderston bus station are probably to be part of the next tranche of Second Stage Transfer (2ST) to a local registered social landlord. They already form part of the Argyle Local Housing Organisation and are administered from the concierge station on St Vincent Street. There are no plans (unless Glasgow Housing Association know differently) to pull them down.

[spokes]

Thanks for the links & info on Anderston.

Obviously I'm day-dreaming, but I think it would be useful & fascinating to have some project/centre dedicated to '60s/'70s hi-rise developments and their effects in Glasgow/the UK/Europe. Did anybody see the article about the Basildon heritage trail? (Guardian article, Blogspot). Might be interesting to explore...

[Peekay]

Who are the idiots who are approving all this?

What the hell's wrong with Glasgow City Council?

Ye kinda answered your own question there!

"Has someone sedated them?"
I wish someone would!

PK

[My Kitten]

Posting as someone who lives in a high rise block of flats I can honestly say that in all the houses I have lived in throughout my life, I would rate my experience here as second favourite housing type (and only second due to the lack of gas central heating). I love tenement flats, lived in a few myself, but I still prefer my concrete block.

It seems easy to take pot shots at multi's, (personally i think its the people you put in any type of housing that causes the problems not merely the housing type) but any adequately managed facility brings a nicer environment. The Shawbridge Corridor is awful - the multi's far too high and generally the housing is far too condensed for my liking and rightly so they should come down. No amount of money thrown at these monoliths would have created a fulfilling living environment (for me anyway!). The other multis in the area are being re-clad, new kitchens and bathrooms, new lifts and a whole host of other goodies.

I recently visited Corbusier's Unite d'habitation in Marseille and I think it works! The area of Marseille in which it is located has a large number of buildings of roughly the same size, the difference being that the buildings are not crammed together blocking sunlight, there are lovely green spaces around the building as well as public space to play and sit. Making it a much more enjoyable experience and somewhere where you would want to live not just reside.

So yeah i think some of these buildings should be kept and can be adequately rehabilitated, the same as I would hope to see a good tenement kept.

[onyirtodd]

One (I hope) unintended consequence of the amount of dosh GHA are throwing at refurbishment across the city is that it has become increasingly difficult to get any experienced and trusted firms to take on smaller (£500,000-£1,000,000) tenement refurb work in the Registered Social Landlord sector.

[deebers]

The area of Marseille in which it is located has a large number of buildings of roughly the same size, the difference being that the buildings are not crammed together blocking sunlight, there are lovely green spaces around the building as well as public space to play and sit. Making it a much more enjoyable experience and somewhere where you would want to live not just reside.

So yeah i think some of these buildings should be kept and can be adequately rehabilitated, the same as I would hope to see a good tenement kept.

You've made a really good point there… when the green spaces are retained, the high blocks do not dominate so much. I've also visited a high rise area in Paris and I remember it being spacious, well landscaped and really well lit at night – it felt safe. I actually think the refurbishment of some our the existing high rises is really successful. I think "Wates Living Space" are behind the transformations and they really know what they are doing. I live near the Kirkton Avenue high flats and I think they are now looking great – plus there is a lot of green areas surrounding them which is well landscaped.

The modern high-rises at Glasgow Harbour are so tightly squeezed together that there is little room for sunlight. When I first heard there were going to be "linear parks" on the site I remember being pleased that there were going to be green areas. Every promotional mocked up image showed individual blocks standing on their own and everything looked great – I had no clue they would be so crammed together. Glasgow Harbour promised so much but was such a disappointment for me.

[RedHotChippyLeper]

Post by deebers on Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:25 pm
Nope - you're thinking about Dudley Drive - a wee bit further down the railway line.

I'll miss the Queensborough garage as it's been there for decades, and I know the tenants aren't happy about the flats going up.

I'm talking about the bottom of Turnberry Road and the back of Hayburn Crescent. They planned to create a small roundabout at the bottom and convert Hayburn Lane into a road, with hunners of flats on the land where garages currently stand. They would have been teetering over the railway line and blocking a majority of the sun from the tenements currently standing. It's a beautiful green area and would have been spoiled. I'm also not sure sure how it would have affected the value of the older houses either.

Thank god it didn't go ahead. It was a few years back this happened…

Post by AlanM on Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:44 pm
There really wouldn't have been much room to build anything there, I used to live in the last close on Turnberry Rd and it was really close to the railway line.

Hi all, just wondering if those that seem to be in the know about this area (Deebers and AlanM you seem well informed) were aware of the following: http://partick.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/concerns-continue-over-building-plans-on-hayburn-lane.html
Basically describes the very same application being submitted again. I was thinking of moving to that area. So I wondered if anyone was aware of:
1. how likely it is to go ahead this time
2. in the comments of that link 1 person describes building being held together with rivets, is that all of the or just the the ones on Turnberry?
3. How noisy would it be at the end of Turnberry given its proximity to the railway line. (Given in relation to the fact that I currently live on Crow Road anyway!)

Cheers all

[deebers]

1. how likely it is to go ahead this time

I really don't know - but the residents are well against it.

2. in the comments of that link 1 person describes building being held together with rivets, is that all of the or just the the ones on Turnberry?

In the early 80s, the tenements at the bottom of Turnberry Road and along Hayburn Crescent had steel ties added to improve structure. To my knowledge, my mum's building has had no further subsidence, but the last block at the very bottom, which is unfortunately attached to hers isn't getting the best surveys. Maybe the subsidence is worse there. I don't know if the problems are the same at the opposite end of Hayburn Crescent, but there are steel ties there too.

3. How noisy would it be at the end of Turnberry given its proximity to the railway line. (Given in relation to the fact that I currently live on Crow Road anyway!)

My bedroom faced the railway line. The trains were very loud because the sound used to bounce off the facing tenements. I think it's louder because the line is curved. I never really got used to the loudness of the very frequent trains and I lived there most of my life! You couldn't have the windows open in the summer without being woken up. I had to wear earplugs. Maybe new flats there will drown out the sound for the tenements!

This is the area in Turnberry Road I'm talking about

Can't get a view of the lane behind Hayburn Crescent, but all the steel ties are visible there.

[RedHotChippyLeper]

Thanks for the response!
Pretty much as i figured. Not that it matters now anyway.
Was looking at a flat which was suspiciously cheap. Turns out the reason is that it is un-mortgageable which is probably due to the bad surveys. So cash buyer only if fancy taking on the subsidence risk - not for me though.
Shame, really nice area.

[joelang1699]

Has anybody seen that plans to expand Buchanan Galleries above the bus station!

Jesus Christ have they not learned anything from Anderson!, Queen Street is dark enough without MORE nasty reatil spaces buiilt towering over it.

I am disgusted

[scottwramsay]

Hi JoeLang, welcome to HG. There's a thread all about the galleries extension over here.

[onyirtodd]

I wonder to what extent recent fatal fires in high rises will colour housing association's plans re second stage transfer of these blocks.

[My Kitten]

I wonder to what extent recent fatal fires in high rises will colour housing association's plans re second stage transfer of these blocks.

Probably nothing, its all to do with politiking and money. Its just as hard flinging yourself out of a top flat tenement when it's on fire. The new doors are fire doors too, much better than most doors.