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Glasgow Times
29-06-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow Caledonia Road high rise flats in Gorbals demolished
Hundreds of onlookers gathered at several vantage points in the Gorbals to watch the buildings be pulled down. The high-rises at 305 and 341 Caledonia Road were brought down using explosives by Dem-Master Demolition. The blocks of flats are owned by New Gorbals Housing Association (NGHA), who decided to remove them to make way for social rent homes. The towers were built in 1971 and are nestled between St Francis' Primary School and the Southern Necropolis cemetery. Hundreds gathered to watch the flats fall (Image: Julie Howden) The exclusion zone for the demolition covered the graveyard and the nearby Gorbals rose gardens. They were two of the last standing Gorbals tower blocks, built in 1965. Each of the Caledonia Road tower blocks rose to 23 storeys. At its peak, the Gorbals was home to 16 of the towering blocks. The demolition comes after the buildings were declared 'unsustainable and unaffordable' to save as they were deemed 'not up to the modern safety standards'. The Glasgow Times previously reported that residents of the high-rise block were first informed of the possible tear-down back in 2020. Today, June 29, the flats have been levelled in a controlled explosion. Locals gathered in their droves, with many feeling "very emotional" at the sight of the blocks coming down. A loud cheer did go up from the crowd as the dust billowed into the air. READ MORE: Major road outside Scottish city closed as emergency services race to scene Fraser Stewart, chief executive of the community-owned New Gorbals Housing Association, previously told the Glasgow Times that saving the blocks was 'unsustainable and unaffordable'. This is due to the inability to bring cladding up to acceptable safety standards without spending a large amount of money on structures that had a limited life span. A total of 152 homes for social rent will be erected in its place, which NGHA hope to have ready within the next few years. The strategy for new homes was agreed between NGHA, Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government. Fraser Stewart said the demolition is particularly sad as the blocks provided high quality and well maintained and managed homes right up to when tenants were rehoused back in 2021. He went on to add that it will be a sad and upsetting event for many of the folk who lived good lives in these towers, some for many decades. Though Fraser said 'not one complaint' has been launched since plans for the demolition were confirmed, some locals in the area were torn. The dust billowed into the air after the flats were razed (Image: Julie Howden) READ MORE: Glasgow's Caledonia Road flats to be demolished THIS week - everything we know READ MORE: More: 9 high rise demolitions that reshaped Glasgow's skyline as Caledonia Road next Earlier this year, the Glasgow Times spoke to a number of residents who either live in the area or previously lived in the blocks. One man said the demolition was a great way to make the Gorbals more modern, while a local woman said the blow-down should improve the area. Another man agreed, saying that the demolition is a great idea to build new homes in the area. The block on the west side was brought down first (Image: Julie Howden) However, there were some people who felt saddened by the plans. One man, who has lived in the area "all his days", said it was a great shame to see the blocks coming down. Waddell Court is now the only remaining tower block in the Gorbals. The Sandiefield Road towers were demolished in 2013, with the Norfolk Court towers blowing down in 2016. The Stirlingfauld Place towers were knocked down in 2008. The Queen Elizabeth Square towers were blown up in a controlled explosion in September 1993. Helen Tinney, 61, was part of a large crowd watching the 22-storey flats' demolition when she was struck by a piece of flying debris. Mrs Tinney died in the Victoria Infirmary after collapsing at the scene of the blast.
Glasgow Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Why there's not enough larger social rent homes in Glasgow
The Glasgow Times has highlighted the length of time people face being stuck on waiting lists for properties with three or more bedrooms. Analysis showed smaller homes outnumber larger ones by three to one, and thousands are waiting while very few of those that do exist become available each year. In one housing association, the wait would be 137 years to provide all on the list with a home. (Image: newsquest) READ NEXT:Families could be stuck on housing list for more than 100 years in Glasgow We asked social landlords in Glasgow if they faced difficulties providing enough larger homes to meet demand. Wheatley Homes Glasgow is the largest in the city and has undertaken many projects to replace outdated and undesirable housing with new build communities. A spokesperson for Wheatley Homes Glasgow, said: 'The main issue in Glasgow is the high build-cost and meeting Scottish Government specifications. 'This includes meeting net zero targets and increasing national and local Government requirements such as sprinklers, zero carbon heating, home working spaces and EV charging. 'The average cost to build a new home in Glasgow is circa £250,000. 'The city council also seek compliance with the Glasgow Standard which can add to build costs. 'In addition, development sites are typically brownfield which require remediation work arising from previous historic, industrial or commercial use.' READ NEXT:Glasgow homeless hotel owners get massive jump in cash from council New Gorbals Housing Association has transformed the area, demolishing poor quality housing and replacing it with new modern homes but it said there is a problem when it comes to larger family homes. Fraser Stewart, chief Executive, said: 'The barrier to us providing more family homes has been because the additional cost of providing such homes is not generally covered by the funding system. 'The development of family homes puts costs relative to the grant allowances through the roof. 'That is particularly the case in inner urban areas where mostly flatted development is needed for density and urban strategy reasons, and the best solution is to maisonette (or duplex) the ground floor.' This, he said, is expensive. Mr Stewart added: 'Also, the cost of land is driven by relatively high densities in inner areas, and this adds further to the cost.' Despite the challenges the association working with the Scottish Government and City Council, is bringing more new build social housing to inner Glasgow. It is currently planning homes at the old Coliseum theatre and bingo site on Eglinton Street and for Caledonia Road once it demolishes the tower blocks there. Groups representing the wider housing association sector in the city recognise the problem with larger homes and the difficulty faced by social landlords. Carolyn Lochhead of Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said: 'With 250,000 people across Scotland on a waiting list for a social home, it's essential that housing associations receive stable and sufficient funding over a number of years to build the homes we desperately need.' David Bookbinder of Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations: added: 'Balancing supply and demand is always tricky – around 50% of all social lets go to homeless households, and most of these are single-person households. 'Fewer people are housed through the housing list than used to be the case, as a result of acute homelessness pressures, so ANY household on the list has less chance of being rehoused than was the case a number of years ago. The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment
The Herald Scotland
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish families face housing list wait of 100 years
Our sister title, the Glasgow Times, investigated after speaking to a woman living in a one-bedroom flat with her three children and who was told is not a priority. The results were startling. We heard back from four associations, large, medium and small, which between them, have more than 50,000 homes in Glasgow. Queen's Cross, one of the largest in the north of Glasgow, has 479 homes with three or more bedrooms and 1372 households on the list. It was only able to allocate 10 in the last year, meaning it would take 137 years before all needs are met. A spokesperson said there is a shortage of larger homes in the north of the city and across Glasgow. They added: 'The provision of larger homes is complex and depends on a wide range of factors and the combination of these which will vary between registered social landlords and individual developments.' New Gorbals Housing Association has been responsible for the regeneration of the Southside area transforming it into a community with sought-after new social housing. (Image: Newsquest) It has 376 larger homes in its stock and 1024 households on a waiting list for them. It let out 12 last year, giving a timescale of 85 years to meet the needs of everyone on that list. Fraser Stewart, director of New Gorbals HA, said: 'There is a recognised shortage of all property size accommodation throughout both the Gorbals, Glasgow, and the country. 'At present there are approximately 4,000 applicants awaiting rehousing in just the Gorbals for properties of all sizes. 'In the last reporting year 2024/25 we let approximately 90 homes to these groups. Essentially if we stopped taking new applicants today, it would take us roughly 40 years to clear the backlog.' The success of the regeneration project has led to increased demand for Gorbals. Mr Stewart, added: 'There continues to be great demand for family sized accommodation in the Gorbals, our latest development, which is due to come off site in the next few months, will provide 10, 4 and 5 bedroom homes, "However, while it will not scratch the surface of the overwhelming demand that New Gorbals and other social landlords face daily, it will make a considerable difference to those families who are allocated them." Wheatley Homes Glasgow, the city's largest social landlord, has 9504 homes with three or more bedrooms in its overall stock of 42,197 properties. (Image: Newsquest) In the last year, it let 326 of them but there are 5187 people on their waiting list for a larger home. That means it could take 16 years for everyone on the list to get a house of the size they need. A spokesperson for Wheatley Homes Glasgow, said: 'In Glasgow, Wheatley has committed to giving 60% of its new lets each year to homeless households. 'We advertise all other available homes to rent on our website 'MyHousing'. As of April 4, 2025 we have 15 properties available. 'New adverts are added each Tuesday and Wednesday. For general available properties, we offer a choice-based letting system and, once applicants have their banding, it is up to them to note interest on properties.' Govan Housing Association is a smaller social landlord in the southwest of Glasgow. (Image: Newsquest) It has 209 three or four-bedroom homes and 228 people on their waiting list for that size. It let 14 in the last year, meaning 16 years before all on the list could be rehoused. Further analysis of social housing stock city-wide by the Glasgow Times found the number of three or more bedroom homes is far outstripped by smaller properties by four to one. Across Glasgow, there are 110,172 homes from Registered Social Landlords. Studio/bedsits, one and two beds account for 87,513 of them and just 22,659 have three, four or more bedrooms. David Bookbinder, director of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations, said it is more difficult for families to get rehoused through waiting lists than it was previously. He said: 'Balancing supply and demand is always tricky – around 50% of all social lets go to homeless households, and most of these are single-person households. Fewer people are housed through the housing list than used to be the case, as a result of acute homelessness pressures, so any household on the list has less chance of being rehoused than was the case a number of years ago.' He added: 'The supply of larger homes, especially those with more than three bedrooms, has long been a challenge in Glasgow and across Scotland. By far the most common property size across social housing in the city is two-bedroom flats. 'I know the Council always tries to prioritise the provision of larger family housing within its new build programme, but across the country, new build supply has fallen in recent years from a peak around 2017/18, so this has inevitably had an impact. 'Glasgow also uses its power to fund 'acquisitions' to boost the supply of larger homes. This year the programme is heavily inclined towards larger family housing.' Carolyn Lochhead, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, director of external affairs said: 'Families face real stress and anxiety when their home is too small to meet their needs: we've heard this directly from people as part of our Still Waiting campaign for more social housing.' On larger properties, she added, 'It's clear that we need many more of them to support families and tackle the city's housing emergency."
