I see that Shawlands in Glasgow has been named by Time Out magazine as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world and, having lived there for many years, I can sort of see why. Even I, it would seem, was not able to dilute its coolness.
So what’s to like about the place? Well, the bread at Buongiorno for a start: white, big, and duvet-fluffy. And the ice cream at The Brooklyn. And I especially loved the spinach and feta parcels at The Cookery Book and its fabulous owner Aurelio who could always sell you something extra. Mainly, as you can see, it was the food I liked. I emerged from Shawlands bigger but happier.
But Shawlands had more, and still does. Jump on a train at Crossmyloof and you’re in town in five minutes. Head down the road and you’re at the Burrell in 10. I also spent a lot of time in Queen’s Park: runnin’, walkin’ and chillin’ as cool people wouldn’t say. Take my advice: climb to the flagpole and you’ll get the best view in Glasgow. Would I use the word cool? I would use the word beautiful.
But I have some worries people. First, who are Time Out to say what’s cool or not? And who still says “cool” these days anyway, grandad? And has no one noticed the problem with labelling areas in this way? Have you been to Shawlands recently? Have you walked down Kilmarnock Road? Have you looked in an estate agent’s window? Shawlands, I think you’ll find, has a problem.
The first issue, to be fair, is one a lot of areas have. I spent the afternoon on Kilmarnock Road recently and the thing that struck me was how shabby and empty a lot of it looked. The Cookery Book (of beloved spinach-parcel memory) is gone, but there are lots of other empty and run-down shops too. Maybe you’d call it shabby chic. Or maybe you’d just call it shabby.
The real problem, though, is particular to Shawlands. I bought my one-bed flat in the 90s for 40k and sold it for over 100k. A friend bought theirs for 12k and sold it recently for over 300k. This is not something to boast about. It’s something that happens when an area becomes popular with people who read Time Out polls: they want to live there, and they want people to know they live there, and so they start to pay silly prices. It’s not cool.
What happens next, sadly, is that the process starts to undermine one of the reasons for living in an area in the first place. In the 90s, Shawlands was an attractive, affordable alternative to the more expensive parts of Glasgow. It meant the community was mixed: economically, socially, culturally, racially, chronologically: old/young, rich/poor, etc, including my own beautiful little tenement on Westclyffe Street. No 38, I still love you.
But the bigger point is all kinds of people could afford to live in the area and that was a good thing and it’s under threat. Take the Shawlands Arcade for example. Not the most beautiful part of the area and it’s probably a good idea to replace it. But the problem is that the current plan is to put up “luxury” flats – in other words, flats a lot of people can’t afford.
Quite rightly, there’s disquiet in the area about the plans. Why isn’t the developer required to include affordable or social housing as part of the scheme? More generally, why aren’t we thinking in terms of a range of housing when we build new developments so communities that are mixed stay mixed?
This, it seems to me, is the problem with Shawlands, and it'll get worse. I was on £16,000-a-year in 1994 and could get a flat on a 100% mortgage at three times my income. Nowadays, a one-bed flat in Shawlands could be six or seven times the income of someone in their early twenties – in other words, for a lot of people, unaffordable.
I realise I may be fighting a losing battle here. Annoying people who read Time Out will go on bidding massive amounts for properties (even though Trussonomics may spell trouble for them in the future). But the least we can do is ensure that when developers move in, they’re required to build properties that aren’t just for the well-off. And the rest of us can do our bit too. Resist the pressure. Do not join a middle-class colony. Look for somewhere else to live. Be calm. Be cool.
Read more by Mark Smith:
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