CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save iconic Glasgow tower blocks from demolition have pledged to remain in their homes.
Wyndford Residents Union stepped up their campaign against demolition of four tower blocks on the Maryhill housing estate on the site of a former barracks.
On Saturday residents staged a rally on Maryhill Road and issued a pledge. Among those attending was William Doolan who has lived on the estate for 22 years.
Read more: Glasgow tower blocks’ demolition brings community spirit in the sky to an end
He carried a sign displaying the Wyndford High Flats pledge which said 'I pledge to remain in my home until is refurbished and made fit for generations to come, I refuse to leave my home.'
The rally was the latest in a series of events led by the residents union and followed a public meeting in September.
Wyndford flats rally with residents issuing a pledge. Picture by Stewart Attwood.
Four blocks – Nos 120, 151, 171 and 191 Wyndford Road – could be demolished, but residents and environmental groups have called for them to be retrofitted.
Speaking at the rally, Mr Doolan said: "I have lived there for 22 years and I believe the flats should be saved. I don't want them pulled down.Why should I move.
"We have enough problems trying to rehouse people and I want to stay in my own house."
Four tower blocks in The Wyndford are earmarked for demolition. Photograph by Colin Mearns.
Last December Wyndford Residents Union were 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 the £54million project.
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.
It is understood that 200 of the 600 flats remain occupied by people who don’t want to lose their community.
The tower blocks are on the site of the 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.
The Wyndford estate was designed by landscape architect city engineer Ernest Buteux and leading architect Professor Alan Dunlop has spoke out about their historic importance.
Prof Dunlop said: ". The Wyndford landscape is remarkable and well used by the residents. On a sunny day you can appreciate the towers particularly, all four have been carefully placed in a natural setting with mature pine, oak, cypress and chestnut trees. Something Buteux would have planned for but never seen reach this level of growth.
"The site is undoubtedly very valuable and would be dream for developers, south facing and fronting onto the river Kelvin and in the middle of two major thoroughfares into the city. The towers, landscape and setting are unique, more than any other in the west of Scotland, and therefore have historic importance.
"In 2021 Glasgow hosted COP 26. I'm wondering if the zero-carbon message of retrofitting and adaptive re-use really meant anything or is just more hot air."
Resident William Doolan pictured at the tower blocks at The Wyndford, Maryhill, Glasgow. Photograph by Colin Mearns.
A Wheatley Homes Glasgow spokesman said said after their consultation, 85 per cent of Wyndford tenants back the regeneration plans, with 87% of tenants living in the four blocks earmarked for demolition also supporting the proposals.
They said retrofitting had been explored, but was not an option in this case.
The spokesman added: “The £54m regeneration will see hundreds of new energy-efficient, affordable homes built and wider investment, including better car parking and bin stores; internal upgrades to tenants’ homes, and new lighting and CCTV.
“The four blocks, which are already being prepared for demolition, had low levels of occupancy and very high rates of turnover.”
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