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Glasgow
Redevelopment
– the Gorbals
The Gorbals was originally a single-street village. It grew up around the River
Clyde’s most westerly crossing point - a bridge completed in 1345.
Five years later, a leper hospital dedicated to St Ninian, the name of a terrace
today, helped plague victims from the city across the river.
The village, thought to be mainly thatched houses lived in by maltmen and brewers,
was extensively damaged in 1748 by fire.
Gorbals
Early History
Towards the end of the 1700s the village’s main industry was weaving. Other trades
were gunsmiths, nailers, shoemakers, tailors and cotton spinners. Around 60 pubs
supplied ‘refreshment’. Govan Colliery in the countryside to the south employed
200 men and used a steam engine to raise coal to the surface.
The Industrial Revolution changed the character of the area. Ironworks, appeared
next to the colliery. Buildings were demolished to allow for railway lines, elevated on
stone and brick arches. A grid layout of four-storey tenements grew up through the
1900s to house local factory and cotton mill workers.
By the 1930s its 90,000
population was served by
1,000 shops and 130 pubs.
It had become a true
community with a mix of
immigrant groups:
Highlanders, displaced by
sheep, land confiscation
and poverty; Irish fleeing
famine; and Jews leaving
behind persecution in
Europe.
Gorbals
Inter-War Period
During the inter-war period, as with many other inner city areas throughout
Britain, it all started to break down. Building decay, overcrowding and poor
sanitation got worse and little was done to address the problems. These became
widespread in the Gorbals.
Government legislation after the Second World War indicated a general desire to
turn this around. It proposed the comprehensive redevelopment of large
chunks of cities and towns. Glasgow Corporation’s ambitious redevelopment
programme earmarked 29 areas across the city as Comprehensive
Development Areas (CDAs) - the Gorbals, was to be the first.
Gorbals
Inter-War Period
By the early 1950s, of Glasgow’s 1,085,000 population,
an estimated 600,000 needed rehousing. Within the city
boundaries, the CDAs could only accommodate 250,000
people. Estates on the edge of the city could take another
100,000. So, 250,000 were expected to move outside the
Glasgow area altogether. New towns were created such
as East Kilbride and Cumbernauld.
The extra expense of building high-rise was justified as it
seemed the only way to accommodate the 250,000
people (two-storey development on the same area would
only house 75,000). Surveys showed that residential
property, some not very old, was in poor condition in
terms of structure and sanitation. Years of private landlord
neglect had made things worse.
Flats had also been subdivided in many cases. The
population density was 458.6 persons per acre compared
to a modern suburban density of 30 persons per acre.
Imagine that with only one toilet for every three houses!
Gorbals
1960s
Inter-War Period
– new and old
1900s
Gorbals
Urban decay in the 1980s
By the 1980s, the area had an air of neglect and dilapidation. The redevelopment of the
area had stopped and the effects of poor building specification were apparent.
The population of the area was 85,000 in 1931. By 1952, this was down to 68,000. In the
1980s it had crashed to 10,000. Shops were difficult to keep going, schools were relocated
or closed, and places of worship closed their doors.
In 1980, after a great battle and rent strike,
the council bowed to tenant pressure to
rehouse remaining tenants from flats riddled
with condensation and water penetration.
Options to refurbish were dismissed and
759 flats were demolished in 1987.
Once again, the area
was in dire need of
regeneration. The
council had to find an
overall strategy to
reverse its decline.
Gorbals
Comprehensive Regeneration in the
21st Century
Recognising the mistakes of the 1960s, a council-led working group formed in 1986.
The emphasis today is on recreating more traditional streets and clearly defined
open spaces.
The architecture has moved on and there are
some exciting examples of design. Better
building materials, maintenance regimes and
greater attention to detail should ensure that
today’s architecture should stand the test of time.
The developments re-introduce four-storey
tenemental housing, a new shopping street and
large communal back garden areas.
Severe unemployment is being tackled through
the Gorbals Initiative, a local enterprise
company, which provides access for local people
to nearby job opportunities and stimulates the
local economy. All in all, great efforts have been
made to make the Gorbals a vibrant, thriving
community.
Gorbals
Inner City Regeneration…the
Gorbals vs Redcliffe
2006
Average house price UK:
Average house price Glasgow:
Average house price Bristol:
The Gorbals
£98,500
Flat 2 bedrooms
£64,000
Flat 1 bedroom
£169,901
£113,169
£181,257
Redcliffe
£189,955
Flat 2 bedrooms
£86,950
Flat 2 bedrooms