Red Road (flats)
Encyclopedia
The Red Road Flats are a high-rise housing complex which lies between the districts of Balornock
and Barmulloch
in the north east of the city
of Glasgow
, Scotland
. It consists of eight multi-storey blocks. Two are "slabs", much wider in cross-section than they are deep. Six are "points" — more of a traditional tower block
shape. The slabs have 25-32 floors, the points 30, and taken together they were designed for a population of 4,700 people. After two blocks in the Gallowgate area
, which also have 30 floors, the point blocks are the tallest buildings in Glasgow at 89 metres (292 ft). Views from the upper floors draw the eye along the Campsie Fells
to Ben Lomond
and the Arrochar Alps
, then west past the Erskine Bridge
and out to Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran
continuing south over Glasgow and East towards Edinburgh.
in 1946, Glasgow Corporation identified Comprehensive Development Areas (CDAs), which were largely inner-urban districts (such as the Gorbals
, Anderston
and Townhead
), with a high proportion of overcrowded slum housing. These areas would see the mass demolition of overcrowded and insanitary tenement
slum housing, and their replacement with lower density housing schemes to create space for modern developments. The dispersed population would be relocated to new estates built on green belt
land on the outer periphery of the city's metropolitan area, with others moved out to the New Town
s of Cumbernauld
and East Kilbride
. These initiatives began to be implemented in the late 1950s. Barlornock was one of the green belt areas that had hitherto little development prior to the construction of the Red Road estate. The original plans for Red Road were far more modest than the high-rise scheme that would ultimately emerge – it called for a complex of maisonettes no taller than 4 storeys. however, what emerged, designed by Glasgow Corporation architect Sam Bunton - concieved the scheme to house a population of 4,700 people, the 25 and 31 storey tower blocks were at the time the highest in Europe.
Contemporary critics of the scheme accused Bunton - who was close to retirement at the time - for championing the development as a personal vanity project; he was well known within Glasgow Corporation as a strong proponent of high-rise housing; his practice having designed other similar multi storey flats around the city. Politics would shape the design of the buildings in other ways - Glasgow's steel making industries had profited little from the post war building boom inspired by the Bruce Report, therefore the American-style steel frame
construction system was used for the towers, rather than the French pre-fabricated concrete panel system which had been used for all other tower blocks built in the city up until that point. This would leave one of the estate's long lasting legacies - steel construction had to be fire-proofed
, which meant the use of deadly asbestos
, a legacy which would blight the estate in the coming years.
For most of the early residents, living in the flats meant a considerable and welcome rise in their living conditions, since most had previously lived in much worse housing, often severely overcrowded, either nearby or elsewhere in the city. From the time they were built until recent years, they were owned by the local authority
.
were used as fire-proofing
. Two decades later it became widely known that the use of this material caused a number of illnesses and deaths, and most or all of it was removed.
. Such problems were less severe than those evident in parts of the city such as the nearby low-rise Blackhill
estate, long dominated by ruthless crime gangs. But they were able to strike a nerve in the perceptions of non-residents, owing partly to the "looming" ambience of the blocks which in some ways might even be called emblematic. The slab blocks, for example, are not only 25 storeys high but also almost 100 metres wide.
Around 1980 the authorities declared two of the blocks unfit to live in, and transferred them for use by students and the YMCA
respectively. These happened to be the blocks closest to the front of the complex when approached from the city centre. Being nearest the bus stop, they were also easiest to locate for those who were new to the city, to Scotland, or to the UK as a whole — as many of the YMCA guests and college students are. Some blocks received coloured steel cladding around the same time. All occupied flats other than those in the two front blocks continued to house tenants of the local authority.
s, and the installation of round-the-clock concierge
facilities. The level of anti-social crime fell dramatically.
s from Kosovo
. Today people also live on the estate who have fled from countries elsewhere in Africa
, Asia
, and Europe
.
. The practice of transferring housing stock from public to private ownership had initially been launched in the 1970s as a flagship policy promoted by the Conservative Party
. At that time, the recipients were individual tenants who opted to buy their homes, or long-term leases thereon. Twenty years later the policy was enthusiastically backed in a more wide-ranging and collectivist form by Glasgow's Labour Party
council, which transferred its entire housing stock to a single company set up for the purpose. This change amounted to the largest transfer of public-sector housing stock that had ever taken place in Western Europe. Local authority publicists promised tenants that following transfer the carrying out of necessary repairs would be expedited.
, and that big changes therefore had to be made. This was very different from what they had said prior to privatisation. At that time, they made no linkage between expected rental income
and the making of repairs. At no time did they state that the landlords' financial income would have any bearing on tenants' rights
to live in accommodation which was publicly owned, publicly subsidised, and properly looked-after.
In 2005 Glasgow Housing Association announced its intention to demolish one of the tallest blocks as part of a regeneration of the area.
The housing scheme was featured in the 2006 film
, Red Road
, which won a BAFTA and the Prix de Jury (third prize) at the Cannes film festival
.
The landlords and their publicist
s, together with players in the commercial property
business
, as well as the council, describe the flats (and therefore those who want to keep their homes) as being of the past
, and (lucrative) 'development' as being of the future
. Cultural figures celebrate the use of an atmospheric cinematic location
.
Meanwhile, thousands of people continue to live there, among whom there is considerable opposition to the plans to demolish their homes. As one manifestation of this, the Save Our Homes group seeks to ensure the scheme's continued existence. This is part of a growing movement to defend council housing in Britain.
However, all the eight buildings are planned for phased demolition beginning in the spring of 2010 and expected to be accomplished within a decade.
On March 7, 2010, the Serykh family, three Asylum seekers, jumped to their death from one of the towers. These deaths galvanised much in the way of action in and around the Red Road.
Various projects now exist to document the end of the flats positively, with the hope that everyone with memories of the flats will contribute actively to the projects as best they can.
On March 14th 2010 "The Sunday Times" in Scotland carried an article entitled "The Rise and Fall of Glasgow's Red Road. That article features the recollections of Glasgow born film-maker, Matt Quinn, who grew up in the flats.
Clydeside TV have now commissioned a film with the working title of "Skyscraper We'ans" that intends to pay tribute to the positive aspects of growing up in the Red Road. This film is to date entirely self-financed without any kind of sponsorship or external commission.
Glasgow Life, a part of the city authorities, have an ongoing project to document the Red Road experience this features 'specially commissioned photography, film and even a novel to celebrate life in 'the scheme'. On March 15th 2010 this was updated to include volume 1 of "Your Stories" which features the recollections of the area by various local people.
From February 19th - June 27th 2010 the Red Road flats featured in the "Multi-Story" exhibition at Glasgow's Gallery Of Modern Art (GOMA) Multi-story is a collaborative arts project based in the Red Road, established in 2004 by Street Level Photoworks in partnership with The Scottish Refugee Council and the YMCA.
Balornock
Balornock is a district in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated outside the city centre, north of the River Clyde, it forms part of the larger area of Springburn....
and Barmulloch
Barmulloch
Barmulloch is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde. Formerly rural, it was developed as a post war overspill housing area, largely featuring Prefabricated housing. Barmulloch shares the Red Road complex of multi-storey flats with the neighbouring...
in the north east of the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It consists of eight multi-storey blocks. Two are "slabs", much wider in cross-section than they are deep. Six are "points" — more of a traditional tower block
Tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
shape. The slabs have 25-32 floors, the points 30, and taken together they were designed for a population of 4,700 people. After two blocks in the Gallowgate area
109 Bluevale Street
The Gallowgate Twins is a local nickname for a development of twin tower block flats situated in the east-end of Glasgow, Scotland. Officially known as 109 Bluevale Street and 51 Whitevale Street, the two towers stand as the tallest building in Scotland., although they are not the buildings with...
, which also have 30 floors, the point blocks are the tallest buildings in Glasgow at 89 metres (292 ft). Views from the upper floors draw the eye along the Campsie Fells
Campsie Fells
The Campsie Fells are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west, from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne, in Stirlingshire. . The highest point in the range is Earl's Seat which is 578 m high...
to Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond , , is a distinctive mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros...
and the Arrochar Alps
Arrochar Alps
The Arrochar Alps are a group of mountains located around the head of Loch Long, Loch Fyne,and Loch Goil, near the villages of Arrochar and Lochgoilhead in Argyll, Scotland. The mountains are especially popular with hillwalkers, due to their proximity and accessibility from Glasgow...
, then west past the Erskine Bridge
Erskine Bridge
The Erskine Bridge is a cable-stayed box girder bridge spanning the River Clyde in west central Scotland, connecting West Dunbartonshire with Renfrewshire....
and out to Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
continuing south over Glasgow and East towards Edinburgh.
Construction and new hope
After the publication of the Bruce ReportBruce Report
The Bruce Report is the name commonly given to two urban redevelopment reports of the Glasgow Corporation ....
in 1946, Glasgow Corporation identified Comprehensive Development Areas (CDAs), which were largely inner-urban districts (such as the Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
, Anderston
Anderston
Anderston is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is on the north bank of the River Clyde and extends to the western edge of the city centre...
and Townhead
Townhead
-Location:Townhead has no fixed boundaries. In ancient times it was the undeveloped area north of the cathedral and town. If we use this description then it is bordered to the west by the area of Cowcaddens, to the north by Sighthill and the east by Royston and south by Merchant City...
), with a high proportion of overcrowded slum housing. These areas would see the mass demolition of overcrowded and insanitary tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
slum housing, and their replacement with lower density housing schemes to create space for modern developments. The dispersed population would be relocated to new estates built on green belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
land on the outer periphery of the city's metropolitan area, with others moved out to the New Town
New Town
New Town may refer to:*New town, a generic name for a planned city development or expansion*In the United Kingdom, any of a specific set of towns created under various Acts of Parliament for population moved out of overcrowded conurbations-Places:...
s of Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
and East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
. These initiatives began to be implemented in the late 1950s. Barlornock was one of the green belt areas that had hitherto little development prior to the construction of the Red Road estate. The original plans for Red Road were far more modest than the high-rise scheme that would ultimately emerge – it called for a complex of maisonettes no taller than 4 storeys. however, what emerged, designed by Glasgow Corporation architect Sam Bunton - concieved the scheme to house a population of 4,700 people, the 25 and 31 storey tower blocks were at the time the highest in Europe.
Contemporary critics of the scheme accused Bunton - who was close to retirement at the time - for championing the development as a personal vanity project; he was well known within Glasgow Corporation as a strong proponent of high-rise housing; his practice having designed other similar multi storey flats around the city. Politics would shape the design of the buildings in other ways - Glasgow's steel making industries had profited little from the post war building boom inspired by the Bruce Report, therefore the American-style steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
construction system was used for the towers, rather than the French pre-fabricated concrete panel system which had been used for all other tower blocks built in the city up until that point. This would leave one of the estate's long lasting legacies - steel construction had to be fire-proofed
Fireproof
-Track List for Original 2002 Release:# "Fireproof" – 3:46# "Just 2 Get By" – 4:17# "Echelon" – 3:25# "Stay Up" – 3:40# "Behind Closed Doors" – 2:55# "Epidemic" – 3:14# "Hindsight" – 2:57# "Light at My Feet" – 3:28# "A Shame" – 3:17...
, which meant the use of deadly asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, a legacy which would blight the estate in the coming years.
For most of the early residents, living in the flats meant a considerable and welcome rise in their living conditions, since most had previously lived in much worse housing, often severely overcrowded, either nearby or elsewhere in the city. From the time they were built until recent years, they were owned by the local authority
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
.
Use of asbestos
During the original construction, large amounts of asbestosAsbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
were used as fire-proofing
Fireproof
-Track List for Original 2002 Release:# "Fireproof" – 3:46# "Just 2 Get By" – 4:17# "Echelon" – 3:25# "Stay Up" – 3:40# "Behind Closed Doors" – 2:55# "Epidemic" – 3:14# "Hindsight" – 2:57# "Light at My Feet" – 3:28# "A Shame" – 3:17...
. Two decades later it became widely known that the use of this material caused a number of illnesses and deaths, and most or all of it was removed.
Decline
As depression set in by the mid-1970s, the estate gained a reputation for anti-social crime, ranging from disaffected youths throwing objects from the roofs and frequent burglariesBurglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
. Such problems were less severe than those evident in parts of the city such as the nearby low-rise Blackhill
Blackhill, Glasgow
thumb|left|Blackhill Locks on the [[Monkland Canal]]thumb|left|Blackhill Locks lower basinBlackhill is an area of north east Glasgow, Scotland. It was developed as a council housing estate in the 1930s...
estate, long dominated by ruthless crime gangs. But they were able to strike a nerve in the perceptions of non-residents, owing partly to the "looming" ambience of the blocks which in some ways might even be called emblematic. The slab blocks, for example, are not only 25 storeys high but also almost 100 metres wide.
Around 1980 the authorities declared two of the blocks unfit to live in, and transferred them for use by students and the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
respectively. These happened to be the blocks closest to the front of the complex when approached from the city centre. Being nearest the bus stop, they were also easiest to locate for those who were new to the city, to Scotland, or to the UK as a whole — as many of the YMCA guests and college students are. Some blocks received coloured steel cladding around the same time. All occupied flats other than those in the two front blocks continued to house tenants of the local authority.
Improvements
Measures were introduced in the 1980s which gave residents increased protection. These included the control of access through the communal entrance doors by means of RFID keys and intercomIntercom
An intercom , talkback or doorphone is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles...
s, and the installation of round-the-clock concierge
Concierge
A concierge is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as...
facilities. The level of anti-social crime fell dramatically.
Refugees
By the turn of the 1990s residents included a number of refugeeRefugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s from Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. Today people also live on the estate who have fled from countries elsewhere in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Transfer to housing association ownership
The position changed dramatically in 2003 when the flats were transferred, after a ballot, to a housing association en masse in the shape of the Glasgow Housing Association LtdHousing association
Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...
. The practice of transferring housing stock from public to private ownership had initially been launched in the 1970s as a flagship policy promoted by the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. At that time, the recipients were individual tenants who opted to buy their homes, or long-term leases thereon. Twenty years later the policy was enthusiastically backed in a more wide-ranging and collectivist form by Glasgow's Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
council, which transferred its entire housing stock to a single company set up for the purpose. This change amounted to the largest transfer of public-sector housing stock that had ever taken place in Western Europe. Local authority publicists promised tenants that following transfer the carrying out of necessary repairs would be expedited.
The future
Soon the new landlords as well as the council insisted that repairs were costing more than receipts in rentRenting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
, and that big changes therefore had to be made. This was very different from what they had said prior to privatisation. At that time, they made no linkage between expected rental income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
and the making of repairs. At no time did they state that the landlords' financial income would have any bearing on tenants' rights
Rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
to live in accommodation which was publicly owned, publicly subsidised, and properly looked-after.
In 2005 Glasgow Housing Association announced its intention to demolish one of the tallest blocks as part of a regeneration of the area.
The housing scheme was featured in the 2006 film
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
, Red Road
Red Road (film)
Red Road is a 2006 British film directed by Andrea Arnold. It tells the story of a CCTV security operator who observes through her monitors a man from her past. It is named after, and partly set at, the Red Road flats in Barmulloch, Glasgow, Scotland which were the tallest residential buildings in...
, which won a BAFTA and the Prix de Jury (third prize) at the Cannes film festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
.
The landlords and their publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
s, together with players in the commercial property
Commercial property
The term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...
business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, as well as the council, describe the flats (and therefore those who want to keep their homes) as being of the past
Past
Most generally, the past is a term used to indicate the totality of events which occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience time, and is...
, and (lucrative) 'development' as being of the future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
. Cultural figures celebrate the use of an atmospheric cinematic location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
.
Meanwhile, thousands of people continue to live there, among whom there is considerable opposition to the plans to demolish their homes. As one manifestation of this, the Save Our Homes group seeks to ensure the scheme's continued existence. This is part of a growing movement to defend council housing in Britain.
However, all the eight buildings are planned for phased demolition beginning in the spring of 2010 and expected to be accomplished within a decade.
On March 7, 2010, the Serykh family, three Asylum seekers, jumped to their death from one of the towers. These deaths galvanised much in the way of action in and around the Red Road.
Various projects now exist to document the end of the flats positively, with the hope that everyone with memories of the flats will contribute actively to the projects as best they can.
On March 14th 2010 "The Sunday Times" in Scotland carried an article entitled "The Rise and Fall of Glasgow's Red Road. That article features the recollections of Glasgow born film-maker, Matt Quinn, who grew up in the flats.
Clydeside TV have now commissioned a film with the working title of "Skyscraper We'ans" that intends to pay tribute to the positive aspects of growing up in the Red Road. This film is to date entirely self-financed without any kind of sponsorship or external commission.
Glasgow Life, a part of the city authorities, have an ongoing project to document the Red Road experience this features 'specially commissioned photography, film and even a novel to celebrate life in 'the scheme'. On March 15th 2010 this was updated to include volume 1 of "Your Stories" which features the recollections of the area by various local people.
From February 19th - June 27th 2010 the Red Road flats featured in the "Multi-Story" exhibition at Glasgow's Gallery Of Modern Art (GOMA) Multi-story is a collaborative arts project based in the Red Road, established in 2004 by Street Level Photoworks in partnership with The Scottish Refugee Council and the YMCA.