Long-awaited Wyndford regeneration plans finally revealed
March 7 2024
Long-awaited plans to regenerate Glasgow's Wyndford estate have been shared by the Wheatley Group following the controversy surrounding the demolition of four tower blocks.
The social housing provider has allocated £100m for the estate regeneration, which would deliver 386 homes - 85% of which will be made available for social rent with the remainder classed as mid-market rent.
Associated improvements include a new community hub, green spaces and CCTV with the former incorporating a computer room, cafe and meeting hall.
Chris Quinn, co-chair of the tenant-led Wyndford Futures Focus Group, said: “Residents told us they want larger homes in Wyndford – and more than 40% of the new homes will have three bedrooms or more to help encourage families back to the area. The new homes will have over 900 bedrooms – which is far more than the four blocks which are being demolished.”
Responding to the news architect Alan Dunlop, a vocal campaigner against demolition, said: “There are already 600 viable residences in Wyndford, that can be restored. They sit within a cultivated, green landscape of mature trees, 50 years in the making, that is unique to Glasgow and indeed to the west of Scotland. Unlike the ubiquitous, could be anywhere, images that support this feature.
"300 new rooms could be added to the site without the needless destruction of the high flats, that would better acknowledge the uniqueness of the site and be more in keeping with and work within the existing mature landscape of Oak, Cypress, Beech and Chestnut trees.
"I'd add that hopefully the tepid images that have been released and support this article might encourage those who supposedly acquiesced to the demolition to change their view and recognise that this '£100m regeneration' will not 'shape our community for the better'; realise what they will lose and that what's proposed does not represent 'hugely exciting times for Wyndford.' Quite the opposite.”
Questioning the apparent generosity of the social landlord championing the plans Malcolm Fraser of Fraser/Livingstone added: "Wheatley say they are 'increasing their investment' from £73m to £100m but this generosity is with our money: the Government passes them it, and we might hope that our Government takes note of their own proclamations on 'Net-Zero' and their, and Glasgow City Council’s, on 'Retrofit First', and spends our money where their mouth is.
"I also note the 'more bedrooms' chat. Personally, I’d be happy if the wide green spaces around the blocks were carefully urbanised by some linking lower-rise with, as a consequence, a substantial increase in bedrooms and homes in general. But first, before any of this, please stop the madness of demolishing 600 existing homes."
The Anderson Bell + Christie masterplan will be the subject of a full planning application later in the year, in tandem with site clearance, with construction expected to begin in 2025.
A play park, cycle paths and walking routes form part of a landscape strategy for the site
A two-storey replacement community hub is included in the plans
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9 Comments
We are doing you a favour somehow by reducing the number of social rent homes in a high need area by circa 300 units, spending £100m of your money inefficiently, burning up millions of tons of CO2 along the way and creating a very anodyne development in an interesting area that could be revamped much more incrementally, efficiently, pleasantly and sustainably than this.
Let's not flatten everything to look the same everywhere (in this case literally).
How much will be grant funded and how much will be revenue / rent funded?
With 85% for social rent this would suggest that grant funding will be 60% and beyond.
Surely the opportunity cost of this demolish and rebuild farrago has to be questioned?
Especially given the number of ghost streets in the city waiting to be repopulated.
Plus the design vibe on show is poverty spec -- phoned in on a Friday afternoon.
Not good -- social housing design on a downward trend.
386 x 85% meaning 328 social rent homes instead of the existing 600 that could be easily retrofitted. During the housing crisis...
I wonder how this sits with the council's targets for climate-resilient living by 2030 and what 'sustainability' targets this project will claim to meet.
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£100mill being invested in the delivery of 386 homes -- but at what cost to other developments that will no not go ahead or be delayed?
Looking at a build cost somewhere north of £250K average per unit -- and that for 2.25 beds each -- nice work if you can get it.
then you have the monoculture aspect -- 85% of the units being made available for social rent. So much for mixed tenure neighbourhoods.
WG are demolishing at £4mill pa income stream because refurbishing it is too much hassle when compared to a new build project -- really poor response from a supposedly progressive organisation.
Hobby horsing at its worst.