MAJOR STUDY COMMISSIONED ON FUTURE OF CARNTYNE'S WINGET HOUSING
Keystone Tenant Managed Homes and Glasgow Housing Association are commissioning a new report which will make firm recommendations about the future of their 700 "Winget" houses in Carntyne. Although the houses are popular, serious structural defects have been identified and surveyors have given the houses a life of no more than ten years unless major improvements are made.
Michael Lennon, GHA's Chief Executive, said,
"It's quite clear that this problem is getting worse, and we are ready to accept our responsibilities to our tenants in Carntyne. We need to find a solution which will work for tenants and also for people who have bought their houses. That's why we are seeking independent, expert advice about the way forward."
GHA is now advertising for consultants to consider three options, as follows ...
- retaining and improving the Winget blocks to give them another thirty years of life
- gradually replacing the blocks with houses of a similar type on the same sites, so that the estate would keep its character
- a more extensive redevelopment which would mean replacing demolished Wingets with new types of housing designed to meet the needs of existing residents and people on GHA's waiting list. One example is the possible use of a small part of the estate to create homes for older people.
John Jeffries, GHA's Director of Investment & Regeneration, said,
"Our colleagues in Keystone Tenant Managed Homes have consulted extensively with the tenants and owner occupiers in Carntyne, and provided a great deal of information about the worsening condition of the Winget houses.
"This estate is extremely popular and we see it as a real asset ... almost a blueprint for the kind of houses we want our tenants to have. It's very unfortunate that poor building practices in the late 1920s have left us with a legacy of crumbling concrete, inadequate foundations and, incidentally, very poor sound insulation.
"Along with Keystone, the tenants and the owner occupiers, we are determined to find a solution which will ensure a high standard of housing in Carntyne, and it will be much better built as well."
GHA has accepted a recommendation from Keystone Tenant Managed Homes that no more houses should be let on the estate as from now. John Jeffries said,
"All of the solutions will involve moving people temporarily while their houses are improved or replaced. We are arranging technical inspections of all the GHA Wingets and we expect to be told that some of the blocks may need to be shored up for safety reasons. While this work is being done, we will need some temporary accommodation."
Many of the 290 owner occupiers in Carntyne will be affected as their flats form part of a block with GHA properties. John Jeffries said,
"Any comprehensive solution will need to include owner occupiers, and we will have to find ways of making it practical for them to take part in the overall upgrading of the estate. The Winget Strategy Group set up by Keystone Tenant Managed Homes includes owner occupiers and we have been listening carefully to their views."
GHA says the consultancy will begin before Christmas and is expected to take between six and eight months. John Jeffries said,
"Once we have the results, there will be further consultation, and then decisions will follow swiftly."
Ends...
For further information contact:
Jon Theobald, Head of PR and Communications, GHA, 0141 274 6200
Lynne McEwan, Communications, GHA, 0141 274 6200
John Egan, Communications, GHA, 0141 274 6200
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09/08/2005 FURTHER CONSULTATION TO BE HELD ON THE WINGETS
29/10/2003 MAJOR STUDY COMMISSIONED ON FUTURE OF CARNTYNE'S WINGET HOUSING
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