Glasgow tower blocks’ demolition brings community spirit in the sky to an end

The 72-year-old has been living in one of the four Maryhill tower blocks known as the Wynford flats, which are now earmarked for demolition, for the past 12 years.

Read more: Glasgow tower blocks earmarked for demolition should be investigated, says architect

While his flat has views over the north of the city and beyond the Campsies, it was the twinkling night sky that caught his attention.

“At first I began looking at the stars through a telescope and it became a bit of a hobby then I moved on to astrophotography.”

As for his fears about moving on, he says: “I try to live in the present at my age, but it looks like I will be out of here within the next six months.”

Gordon Goudie pictured on the balcony of his flat at 151 Wyndford Road, Maryhill. 151 is one of four tower blocks in the Wyndford that are earmarked for demolition. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

Mr Goudie is among 200 residents who are still living in the high rise or tower blocks in the sky several months on after a consultation began on proposals by landlord Glasgow Housing Association, part of the Wheatley Group, to demolish the four blocks, which have been described as “historic” by a leading architect.

Long before the tower blocks, it was the site of Maryhill Barracks where Rudolph Hess, Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command, was taken after crash landing in a field near Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, for peace talks in 1941. It was being used as a prisoner-of-war camp at the time and in 1942, the Free French leader, General Charles de Gaulle, visited French troops there.

The barracks were decommissioned in 1959 after the amalgamation of the Highland Light Infantry into the Royal Highland Fusiliers and were largely demolished in 1961.

1935 - Waterloo Week at Maryhill Barracks.

Sixty years later, in December 2021, Wyndford Residents Union was among tenants informed that four tower blocks, which had switched from landlords Cube Housing Association to Glasgow Housing Association, were earmarked for demolition. The 600 flats would be demolished to make way for 300 new energy-efficient affordable homes under a £54 million project.

GHA said the four blocks – Nos 120, 151, 171 and 191 Wyndford Road – could be demolished.

Ironically, from Mr Goudie’s high-rise home, he can see a handful of the remaining tower blocks on the Glasgow skyline, but at one time there were more than 200 high-rise tower blocks across the city, all built between 1955 and 1975.

1962 - New Housing at Maryhill Barracks

Tower blocks were seen as an answer to Glasgow’s overcrowding issue but, after 50 years, it seems high rises have had their day as well.

Glasgow’s skyline was at one point dominated by tower blocks in all parts of the city from the Red Road flats in the north to the Hutchesontown flats in the Gorbals which were pulled down.

Red Road, which was the largest high-rise development in Europe when it was completed in 1969, with the tallest of its eight towers being 31 storeys high, housed upwards of 5,000 people.

Caz Rae, left and Ellenor Hutson, at right, both with the Wyndford Residents Association. Four tower blocks in the Wyndford are earmarked for demolition. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

In Wyndford today the boundary wall of the barracks remains and this year marks the 150th anniversary of their opening as Garrioch Barracks in 1872. Built to accommodate an infantry regiment, a squadron of cavalry and a battery of field artillery, it dominated the area which is now Wyndford housing estate. The barracks replaced the previous infantry barracks at Duke Street in the east end of the city.

The then Glasgow City Corporation had been petitioning the government since the early 19th century for more military protection as they feared “riot and tumult” in the growing industrial city.

Read more: Scotland v England match to be celebrated 150 years on

Despite the fact that Maryhill at the time was an independent burgh, it agreed to the erection of Glasgow’s new barracks, with an enlarged complex opening in 1876.

The barracks brought a sense of community similar to the feel of the high rises when they were first built. The Glasgow Soldiers’ Home, where those on leave could entertain relatives, and public houses with names such as the Highland Light Infantry (HLI) and the Elephant and Bugle (the HLI emblem) gave Maryhill the feel of a garrison town. Married quarters were added to the barracks in 1911.

The Wyndford’s transformation from barracks to a housing estate of the future meant people were desperate to live there. Today there is still a pathway linking it to the Botanic Gardens as well as to Dawsholm Park and while residents might not have had access to playing fields for some time, there is still a community centre in the development.

Ali Mohammad Sadeigh pictured tending to his mint plants in the balcony of his flat. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

For Ali Mohammad Sadeigh his view over the Kilpatrick Hills have been a tonic for him. Six years ago he was diagnosed with lymphoma and on some of his darkest and most difficult days during chemotherapy coming back to his 20th-floor flat was his sanctuary. It was a place to retreat to and help clear his mind.

The 57-year-old is in the process of relocating to a new flat in the Townhead area of the city, but it will be a time of upheaval and disruption as he leaves his home of 12 years.

“I would come back here after my treatment and just look out of the window,” Mr Sadeigh said. “It helped to clear my mind and was a way of relaxing. I love my home here, I have been here for 12 years. I made Glasgow my home 20 years ago and have enjoyed living in the Wyndford area. It has been good for me and I will miss it.”

Despite his predicament and health problems – he also has diabetes and sight issues – Mr Sadeigh made residents’ group representatives feel at home, offering his guests fresh fruit as people of Iranian background traditionally do.

A view of Glasgow from the 21st floor of the tower block at 151 Wyndford Road, Maryhill. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

On Tuesday, Mr Sadeigh will be closing the door to his home and his balcony mint garden for good as he is due to move across the city to a new life.

“It does make me sad and upset. I have been growing mint on the balcony for years. I might not have much space, but I water my tubs every day.”

While he has recovered from cancer, Mr Sadeigh is still has ongoing health issues and is on daily medication. And while he might be moving out of the remit of Wyndford Residents Union, the volunteers with the group will still be offering him assistance as settles in his new home and registers with local services such as a doctors’ surgery.

Caz Rae, of the Wyndford Residents Union says she has seen many people struggle with the changes which has made it a stressful time for residents.

“I was helping one lady, who was 77 years old, as she was stressed by it all,” said Ms Rae. “She wasn’t able to find her way about the internet or connect up utilities, so we helped take some of the burden off her.”

Four tower blocks in The Wyndford, the former site of Maryhill Barracks are earmarked for demolition. Photograph by Colin Mearns.

Ms Rae and fellow members of the residents’ union have been fighting the demolition and last week held a public meeting to raise awareness.

One of the main speakers was Alan Dunlop, an architecture professor who said the concept behind the kinds of blocks came from the landscape architect city engineer Ernest Buteux whose ideas were about developing a strong community spirit.

Residents’ group member Ellenor Hutson has been living on the estate for more than 10 years with her family and enjoys seeing her children being able to play close to home.

However, residents do admit the area does have its problems with antisocial behaviour, particularly in the evening, but they feel that it is not helped when some of the flats are now lying empty and sealed behind metal doors.

In the blocks of both Mr Goudie and Mr Sadeigh, they live on ghostly landings where most of the residents have moved out. Only around 200 of the 600 residents in the four blocks are left now.

And it is a similar situation for William Doolan, who lives in block 171, which he has called home for 22 years. He is watching more and more people leave.

“When I first came here people talked about how it was the place to be. There were waiting lists to live here and I remember there was one lady who had lived here for 44 years before she moved due to her health. It was a community when I came here,” Mr Doolan said.

A Wheatley Homes Glasgow spokesman said tenants in the four blocks in Wyndford are being fully supported to find alternative homes in areas of their choice.

The spokesman added: “Each tenant living in these blocks will be offered another Wheatley home which matches their needs and circumstances.

“Any tenant who wishes to remain in Wyndford will be able to move to another home within the community.

“We’re here to support those moving at every step. We’d urge any tenant with questions to get in touch with us straight away.”

As part of a consultation, letters were sent out to tenants by Glasgow Housing Association which describes the blocks as “no longer fit for modern-day living nor meet[ing] the type and quality of housing people have a right to expect and demand.”

A brochure described it as “a bright new dawn for Wyndford” but only time will tell if that is the case for its residents.