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| Glasgow's Red Road flats come down – but not without a fight | Glasgow's Red Road flats come down – but not without a fight |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| The Glasgow skyline has been left with two broken teeth after the carefully planned demolition of six iconic tower blocks went awry on Sunday afternoon. | The Glasgow skyline has been left with two broken teeth after the carefully planned demolition of six iconic tower blocks went awry on Sunday afternoon. |
| Hundreds of people had gathered around an exclusion zone to watch the simultaneous explosion bring down the notorious Red Road flats, on the north-eastern edge of the city. | Hundreds of people had gathered around an exclusion zone to watch the simultaneous explosion bring down the notorious Red Road flats, on the north-eastern edge of the city. |
| But two of the six blocks have remained partially upright, with only their lower halves demolished. | But two of the six blocks have remained partially upright, with only their lower halves demolished. |
| Meanwhile, thousands of local residents who had been evacuated from the area before the demolition waited for several hours before being allowed to return to their homes. | |
| In a statement, Glasgow Housing Association said: “Unfortunately today’s demolition has not gone completely to plan. The contractor Safedem is carrying out a technical assessment of the site and this will continue into tomorrow. | In a statement, Glasgow Housing Association said: “Unfortunately today’s demolition has not gone completely to plan. The contractor Safedem is carrying out a technical assessment of the site and this will continue into tomorrow. |
| “Going forward we will be working with the contractor to look at options for the safe demolition of what remains of two of the six blocks.” | “Going forward we will be working with the contractor to look at options for the safe demolition of what remains of two of the six blocks.” |
| Hailed as the solution to Glasgow’s tenement slums in the 1960s when they were built as a “scheme in the sky” to house over 5000 residents, the flats came to represent the failings of 20th-century high-rise housing. | Hailed as the solution to Glasgow’s tenement slums in the 1960s when they were built as a “scheme in the sky” to house over 5000 residents, the flats came to represent the failings of 20th-century high-rise housing. |
| Two of the original eight blocks were levelled in controlled explosions in 2012 and 2013. | Two of the original eight blocks were levelled in controlled explosions in 2012 and 2013. |
| Last year, a proposal from Glasgow city council to bring the flats down in a controlled explosion as a centrepiece of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony sparked a public outcry. The plan was abandoned after more than 17,000 people signed a petition calling for the buildings to be “demolished with dignity”. | Last year, a proposal from Glasgow city council to bring the flats down in a controlled explosion as a centrepiece of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony sparked a public outcry. The plan was abandoned after more than 17,000 people signed a petition calling for the buildings to be “demolished with dignity”. |
| Increasingly run down by the turn of the millennium, the Red Road flats had acquired a grim reputation for squalor, violence and drug abuse. As they became increasingly hard to let, the flats were used to house asylum seekers, including the “Birdman of Red Road”. One of the flats’ most famous resident in later years, Jamal Hamad was a Kurdish refugee who lived alone in one of the cleared high-rises with only his canaries for company. | Increasingly run down by the turn of the millennium, the Red Road flats had acquired a grim reputation for squalor, violence and drug abuse. As they became increasingly hard to let, the flats were used to house asylum seekers, including the “Birdman of Red Road”. One of the flats’ most famous resident in later years, Jamal Hamad was a Kurdish refugee who lived alone in one of the cleared high-rises with only his canaries for company. |
| Researchers in the Housing, Everyday Life and Wellbeing team at the University of Glasgow are currently studying the long term experiences of those who were rehoused in high rise flats during the 1960s and 70s. | Researchers in the Housing, Everyday Life and Wellbeing team at the University of Glasgow are currently studying the long term experiences of those who were rehoused in high rise flats during the 1960s and 70s. |
| They found that the vast majority of high-rise tenants at the time were said to be satisfied with their new homes. | They found that the vast majority of high-rise tenants at the time were said to be satisfied with their new homes. |
| The flats became the symbol of isolation and crime … to others it was home | The flats became the symbol of isolation and crime … to others it was home |
| Prof Lynn Abrams, head of modern history at the University of Glasgow, said: “Red Road polarises people. The flats undoubtedly became the symbol to some of all that failed in the city’s high rise experiment, associated with isolation, anti-social behaviour and crime. | Prof Lynn Abrams, head of modern history at the University of Glasgow, said: “Red Road polarises people. The flats undoubtedly became the symbol to some of all that failed in the city’s high rise experiment, associated with isolation, anti-social behaviour and crime. |
| “To others, however, it was home. This is where they grew up, where they raised their children. They were an improvement on the housing conditions many had endured in Glasgow’s overcrowded and substandard rented sector, they were modern with all mod cons including hot water and indoor WCs. | “To others, however, it was home. This is where they grew up, where they raised their children. They were an improvement on the housing conditions many had endured in Glasgow’s overcrowded and substandard rented sector, they were modern with all mod cons including hot water and indoor WCs. |
| “But it is clear that so early in the life of Glasgow’s high-rise experiment there were already signs of the problems that bedevilled this modern housing solution. | “But it is clear that so early in the life of Glasgow’s high-rise experiment there were already signs of the problems that bedevilled this modern housing solution. |
| “Social problems such as isolation and loneliness and the absence of provision for children; economic problems surrounding high rents and expensive utility bills; and problems with the build quality of the flats with thin walls, ill-fitting windows, dangerous balconies and malfunctioning lifts.” | “Social problems such as isolation and loneliness and the absence of provision for children; economic problems surrounding high rents and expensive utility bills; and problems with the build quality of the flats with thin walls, ill-fitting windows, dangerous balconies and malfunctioning lifts.” |
| The research follows on from a pioneering study of Glasgow’s high flats in 1968, conducted by social researcher Pearl Jephcott, which surveyed thousands of high rise tenants, including residents at Red Road shortly after they moved into their new homes. | The research follows on from a pioneering study of Glasgow’s high flats in 1968, conducted by social researcher Pearl Jephcott, which surveyed thousands of high rise tenants, including residents at Red Road shortly after they moved into their new homes. |
| Questionnaires were completed by some of the Red Road residents at the time giving an insight into how people perceived new high rise living. They include a middle aged couple living on the 24th floor in Petershill Drive, who said there were no children in the block, although in fact there were two families living on different floors. | Questionnaires were completed by some of the Red Road residents at the time giving an insight into how people perceived new high rise living. They include a middle aged couple living on the 24th floor in Petershill Drive, who said there were no children in the block, although in fact there were two families living on different floors. |
| One young mother living on the 19th floor, who had moved from Springburn, said her son would not go out to play because he was afraid of the lifts, which took too long to come and were often broken. | One young mother living on the 19th floor, who had moved from Springburn, said her son would not go out to play because he was afraid of the lifts, which took too long to come and were often broken. |
| She also complained of a lack of shops, with residents having to rely on grocery vans which came round the flats and were more expensive. | She also complained of a lack of shops, with residents having to rely on grocery vans which came round the flats and were more expensive. |
| Abrams is appealing for people who lived in Glasgow’s high rise blocks in the 1960s and 1970s to contact her team at the university to share their memories. | Abrams is appealing for people who lived in Glasgow’s high rise blocks in the 1960s and 1970s to contact her team at the university to share their memories. |