# The Challenges of Housing in Govanhill, Glasgow

Fabien Jeannier

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# The Challenges of Housing in Govanhill, Glasgow

*Se loger à Govanhill, Glasgow : regards sur les enjeux et difficultés*

Fabien Jeannier

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DOI: 10.4000/13lks

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Fabien Jeannier, "The Challenges of Housing in Govanhill, Glasgow", *Études écossaises* [Online], 24 | 2025, Online since 31 March 2025, connection on 03 April 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/etudsecossaises/5130 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/13lks

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# The Challenges of Housing in Govanhill, Glasgow

## *Se loger à Govanhill, Glasgow : regards sur les enjeux et difficultés*

### Fabien Jeannier

## Introduction

<footnote n="1">1 Govanhill is a densely populated multi-ethnic working-class neighbourhood located in the south side of the City of Glasgow. It is currently home to about 18,000 people, including the largest Roma population in Scotland.¹ It is also home to a large Pakistani community. The neighbourhood is adjacent to Queen's Park and close to the city centre, with good public transport links (bus and train) and a (recent) traffic-free cycling route that links Queen's Park to the city centre and runs through the neighbourhood along Victoria Road. It is also arguably one of the best-preserved Victorian neighbourhoods in Glasgow, with a built environment that is almost entirely made up of traditional sandstone tenement blocks. Unsurprisingly, the history of the neighbourhood has been inextricably linked to the development and decline of Glasgow as an industrial city as well as its subsequent transformation into a post-industrial city.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">2 The neighbourhood has, like the rest of urban Scotland, considerably changed since the publication of *Trainspotting* more than thirty years ago. It has hit the headlines and received extensive—and often negative—media coverage in the last fifteen years or so from the Scottish tabloids.² Crime, squalor, filth in the tenement backcourts, rogue landlords and the Roma community have been the main recurring themes of tabloid accounts. On the other hand, the occasional more optimistic (and informed) media account has helped expose a more balanced, accurate and fairer picture of the neighbourhood (Hassan, 2016, 2019 and 2021; *Urban Realm*, *BBC Scotland*, *Scottish Housing News*, *Greater Govanhill*).</footnote>

<footnote n="3">3 Govanhill has also stimulated interest in academic research, overwhelmingly through a sociological and ethnographic lens. It has mainly investigated multiculturalism and the</footnote>
Pakistani community (Thomas, 1999), immigration and community inclusion in relation to the Roma community (Clark, 2014; Sime et al., 2017), racialization (Byrne et al., 2023) and the stigmatization of the Roma community (Grill, 2012; Mullen, 2018; Kailemia, 2018). It has also investigated how place-based community events help resist narratives of territorial stigmatisation (McGillivray et al., 2023) as well as the impact of community-based protests and resistance campaigns in nurturing a community feel in the neighbourhood, in fostering inclusion and community empowerment, in developing gender and ethnic equality and opportunities (Rolfe et al., 2020). These studies have been insightful in trying to unravel the complexities of social issues and community interactions in a neighbourhood where more than 40 different languages are spoken.

4

Perhaps quite surprisingly, and despite its outstanding Victorian character, Govanhill's housing issues and the preservation of its built environment have sparked less scholarly interest than its social and ethnographic dynamics. Govanhill is obviously dealt with in Worsdall's classic study of Glasgow's tenements (Worsdall, 1989) while Thomas's doctoral dissertation (Thomas, 1999) brings valuable background information on the neighbourhood's urban, social and economic condition at the end of the 1990s. Recent academic literature generally deals with housing and the built environment in Glasgow as a whole (Robertson, 2020) or focuses on the transformation of more archetypal neighbourhoods such as the Gorbals (Clarke & Wright, 2018). Govanhill has featured in comparative studies that investigate the extent to which the historic environment has played a role in Glasgow's transformation from de-industrial to post-industrial and beyond and the development of new urban strategies since the 1980s (Madgin, 2020) or how social housing providers are instrumental in fostering integrated communities (Finney et al., 2019).

5

While the only case study in recent academic literature that deals with the historic environment in Govanhill aims at recollecting and reflecting on the grassroots campaign to save the Govanhill Baths (Brown & Warren, 2010), we have been unable to identify any academic study that aims to chart Govanhill's housing issues in relation to its historic environment. This article will therefore seek to address this shortcoming. Consequently, the first section of this article introduces the necessary background elements to the creation and evolution of Govanhill's urban fabric. Then, considering the very specific nature of the neighbourhood's urban fabric and the significant contribution of Govanhill Housing Association, this paper delves into the neighbourhood's housing issues in relation to its historic environment and Scotland's major shifts in housing policy over the last 30 years or so through two main lenses: the specificities of tenemental housing and the community-based housing association's critical role in providing social rented housing and transforming the neighbourhood.

## An outstanding Victorian and Edwardian built heritage

6

Govanhill was established as a working-class neighbourhood early in the 19th century. Its history happens to be deeply linked to the story of three men, all by the name of William Dixon. The first one (1753-1822) became the lessee of a colliery located next to the farmhouses and cottages sitting in the rich farmland that was later to become Govanhill.³ When he died in 1822, his son, also by the name of William Dixon (1788-1859), followed in his footsteps. In 1837, he founded Govan Iron Works in the north of
Govanhill. The works exploited coal extracted from the local pits and used the rail to transport iron to the River Clyde for shipment. The blast furnaces became one of the largest manufacturers of iron in the world and became known as “Dixon’s Blazes” because of the way they lit up the sky at night. The third William Dixon bought the estate of Little Govan and started feuing⁴ the land to builders in the 1860s to provide local accommodation for his workers. In 1864 work began in Govanhill on the construction of Dubs Locomotive Works, which became Queens Park Locomotive Works in 1903. The industrialisation of the area was then well on its way and was altering its countryside character in huge proportions. The burgh of Govanhill was created in 1877, with 7,200 inhabitants at the time, to be annexed by Glasgow less than 20 years later, in 1891.

7 Migrations to the West of Scotland in the 19th and 20th centuries changed the demographic, social and economic fabric of the neighbourhood. Govanhill became the first port of call for many generations of settling communities. Irish Catholics, Italians and Jewish people represented the bulk of immigrants settling in the area, later followed by Pakistani immigrants, and more recently by Roma people. Govanhill therefore became one of the most culturally diverse and integrated neighbourhoods in Glasgow and Scotland (Thomas, 1999). Incomers put a lot of pressure on the housing stock and overcrowding often led to the subdivision and deterioration of the tenements, in the same way as in the city's other working-class districts. In the 1920s and 1930s, Govanhill was a populous working-class area whose main employers were Govan Iron Works and Queens Park Locomotive Works, until the 1930s crisis resulted in mass unemployment and widespread poverty. With money being scarce for maintenance, the economic circumstances played a significant part in maintaining overcrowding and in the continuing deterioration of the built environment. Glasgow's cityscape experienced dramatic and spectacular changes after World War II with mass destruction. However, Govanhill remained mostly unaffected and was able to retain its very distinctive Victorian and Edwardian character—to this day, it is overwhelmingly (although not entirely) made up of rows of traditional working-class sandstone tenements.

8 The neighbourhood's long streets were laid out during the boom years of 1872-76 (Worsdall, 1989, p. 10). However, the period maps show that the neighbourhood was far from being completed in the 1870s. Govanhill's layout was orchestrated by the third William Dixon, who was the neighbourhood's main employer and asked for wide streets and “good quality” housing to be built for his workers (Thomas, 1999, p. 117).⁵ This did not make him a particularly progressive employer though, as his demands were in line with the regulations enforced by Glasgow's City Improvement Trust,⁶ which was in charge of eradicating overcrowding in the city's slums and imposed the construction of buildings of a relatively high standard with a maximum of four storeys. The tenements were actually mainly built between 1890 and 1912. They include buildings designed by the famous Scottish architect Alexander “Greek” Thomson. The area's outstanding architectural heritage is acknowledged in Worsdall's description of Crosshill and Govanhill in his authoritative book on the Glasgow tenement (1989, pp. 102-3).

9 Govanhill was one of the few areas to avoid Glasgow Corporation's programme of "Comprehensive Development Areas" (CDAs) in the 1960s. This programme saw 29 inner city areas of traditional working-class tenements demolished and replaced
with new high-rise buildings. The existing communities were dispersed to the new overspill peripheral estates of Pollok, Castlemilk, Easterhouse and Drumchapel as well as to Scotland's new towns such as East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine⁷ in an attempt to eradicate overcrowding and slum housing. Considering the overall social, environmental, architectural and urbanistic failure of the overspill strategy (Jeannier, 2023, pp. 87–108) and following a report by Lord Esher, published in 1971 and praising the city's Victorian architectural heritage, Glasgow Corporation started to alter its policy regarding its Victorian built heritage by the mid-1970s. Lord Esher recommended the creation of eight “conservation areas” in suburban areas made of tenements and terraced houses. They included Kelvinside, Partickhill, Dowanhill, Hillhead, Drumbreck, Pollokshields, Strathbungo, Crosshill and Dennistoun. Although Govanhill and Hyndland were not included in the list, Lord Esher suggested that they could be designated as “general improvement areas”. He also advocated for listed buildings to be used in a coordinated manner as a means to contribute to their preservation.⁸

10 Govanhill's tenements escaped complete destruction in the 1950s and 1960s, and so did its period community buildings, a large majority of which are now Category B-listed buildings.⁹ The Edwardian Govanhill Baths (built between 1914 and 1917 on Calder Street) are perhaps the most iconic example of the neighbourhood's community heritage. The building's recent refurbishment is testament to the critical role played by community activism in the neighbourhood. It is the result of a 20-year campaign and long-standing battle between the local authority (which owned the Baths and ordered their closure in 2003) and the local community through Govanhill Baths Community Trust.¹⁰

11 Other period buildings include Dixon Halls¹¹ (at the corner of Dixon Avenue and Cathcart Road), Govanhill Public Library¹² (at the corner of Calder Street and Langside Road) and Govanhill picture house¹³ (on Bankhall Street). Most of Govanhill's churches are listed buildings.¹⁴ The neighbourhood's schools escaped destruction and are all Category B-listed buildings.¹⁵ Finally, other community buildings were retained, even though they no longer serve their original function, such as the former Glasgow Samaritan hospital for women on Coplaw Street and Butterbiggins Road, or the former Holy Cross Infants Roman Catholic school, formerly Batson Street school, now used by Glasgow City Council's social work department.

12 Govanhill boasts more than 150 listed buildings—20 category B-listed community and civic buildings and their annexes (schools, railway stations, community halls, converted churches, and a picture house); 7 Category A-listed tenements and 98 Category B-listed tenements; 31 Category C-listed buildings (almost only tenements). Many of them are located in the eastern part of Crosshill's conservation area, in the southern part of the neighbourhood.
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2. – Tenements on Queen's Drive, near Niddrie Square.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>Figure 4. – Corner of Alison Street and Cathcart Road.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>Figure 6. – Govanhill Baths.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>Figure 7. - Govanhill Baths.</figcaption></figure>

## The urban crisis: from industrial to deprived neighbourhood

13 Govan Iron Works, the last blast furnace to operate within Glasgow's boundary, closed in 1959, followed by the closure of Queens Park Locomotive Works three years later. It was a hard hit for Govanhill. Economic decline and unemployment took their toll on the neighbourhood and the housing stock continued to deteriorate. The 1971 census showed that 41% of dwellings were without exclusive use of hot water, bath and toilet. A report published by Glasgow Corporation in 1972 described the area as consisting of decaying tenement properties with mixed back court uses, while most of the schools were located on cramped congested sites. What remained of industrial and commercial activity was concentrated around Larkfield Bus Depot to the north-west, in small back court developments or infilled sites, and along the shopping thoroughfares of Cathcart Road, Victoria Road and Pollokshaws Road.

14 Local authority facilities were scarce in the neighbourhood, with the notable exception of the swimming baths. However, the report noted a "great diversity of social life" with a "wide cross-section of the social stratum in terms of class, religion and ethnic origin", nurtured by churches, whose activities took place in church and school halls. It is interesting to note that the Corporation's Planning Department warned against undermining the strength and diversity of social life through any comprehensive attempt to provide space. In a complete change of perspective from the previous decades, "Govanhill's tightly packed and diverse population was seen as a strength rather than a weakness" (Thomas, 1999, pp. 117-8).
15 In the mid-1970s, Glasgow Corporation acknowledged Govanhill as a prime residential area, considering that it was located within one mile of the city centre, well served by public transport, with good local shopping facilities and close to large industrial development sites. This may be partly credited for the conservation of the neighbourhood's built environment—despite its continuing dereliction.

16 Being recognised as a prime residential area did not prevent Govanhill from being labelled as a deprived area and, as such, being issued a "local plan" in 1980.¹⁶ It gave the community access to an important source of funding for community groups and projects through the Urban Programme.¹⁷ Local activists, supported by community workers and local councillors, made a number of successful bids throughout the 1980s and early 1990s: Govanhill Self Help Initiative Project was established to provide a Food Co-operative, Credit Union and Money Advice Service; a new community centre, the Larkfield Centre, was built close to North Govanhill; Govanhill Action for Parents developed a Mobile Creche and Out of School Care Service; Govanhill Youth Project was established; and the Dixon Community made one successful application to provide outreach services for the frail elderly and another to promote "ethnically sensitive services" (Thomas, 1999, p. 124).

17 Despite the implementation of various community projects, Govanhill remained a deprived area at the beginning of the 1990s. There had been little change in the fabric of the area over the last twenty years except that the built environment was showing acute signs of physical dereliction with a number of vacant industrial premises and neglected front shops, even though Allison Street remained a bustling shopping area (very much Asian). By the 1990s the provision of community facilities had shifted away from churches and their associated halls (Thomas, 1999, p. 123) and the population had fallen to 9,500 according to the 1991 census (the population was estimated to be 13,600 in 1979), although the local plan had suggested that new housing and rehabilitation would not have a significant impact on the total population of the neighbourhood.¹⁸

<table><caption>Table 1. - Housing tenure in Govanhill and Glasgow District (Thomas, 1999, p. 121).</caption><thead><tr><th rowspan="2"></th><th colspan="2">Govanhill-Local plan area</th><th colspan="2">Glasgow District</th></tr><tr><th>% in 1971</th><th>% in 1991</th><th>% in 1971</th><th>% in 1991</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>District Council owned</th><td>17</td><td>18.6</td><td>54</td><td>43.7</td></tr><tr><th>Private Rented</th><td>43</td><td>14</td><td>24</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><th>Owner Occupied</th><td>40</td><td>41.6</td><td>22</td><td>37.4</td></tr><tr><th>Housing Association</th><td>-</td><td>24.1</td><td>-</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><th>Other</th><td>-</td><td>1.7</td><td>-</td><td>6.2</td></tr></tbody></table>

18 In the 1990s in Govanhill, where the tenements had survived the large-scale demolitions that had taken place in other districts of the city, the housing stock was different from the city's average—in tenure as well as in type. On the one hand, there was a significantly lower proportion of local authority social rented housing. The local
authority mainly owned houses that were built after the Second World War and there
were very few of them in a neighbourhood overwhelmingly composed of pre-1919
tenements. Therefore, the local authority had limited influence on the transformation
of the neighbourhood's housing stock. On the other hand, there was a much higher
proportion of houses provided by the local community-led housing association, which
had to deal with the difficult task of improving and maintaining its period housing
stock, but obviously could not do it on the same scale as the local authority. A solid
proportion of the housing stock was still privately owned. This, too, was a huge obstacle
to their improvement, as their owners lacked the will and/or the means to do so.
Consequently, sub-standard housing was still very common in the area in the 1990s. As
one of the first community-led housing associations in Glasgow, Govanhill Housing
Association has played a pivotal and historical role in transforming the
neighbourhood's housing stock. The next section examines the challenges it has had to
face, in the context of the neighbourhood's very specific urban legacy.

Housing in the post-industrial neighbourhood

19

Govanhill Housing Association (GoHA), a community-based and community-controlled social landlord run by the residents living in the area, was established in 1974. It currently owns and manages around 2,800 homes for social rent (60% are in rehabilitated and improved pre-1919 tenement blocks and 80% are 1 and 2-bedroom flats) and factors a further 1,400 privately owned properties. GoHA experienced significant growth in 2010, when more than 700 homes in Govanhill and Merrylee were finally transferred from Glasgow Housing Association.¹⁹ The association has also completed over 250 new built houses since the early 1980s (Govanhill Housing Association, 2022, pp. 3–5). Mixed-tenure housing units planned by the Housing Association in partnership with private developers have been completed recently at Butterbiggins Road, in the northern part of the neighbourhood, on former vacant land and other housing developments are under way.²⁰

<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>Figure 8. – New built on Butterbiggins Road.</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>Figure 9. – New built on Butterbiggins Road.</figcaption></figure>

20 When it began to operate, GoHA first had to deal with the absence of a political, strategic and financial plan to tackle Govanhill's appalling housing conditions. However, it soon benefited from the legal and financial provisions introduced by the Housing (Scotland) Act 1974.²¹ Under the 1974 Housing Act, local authorities were empowered to declare Housing Action Areas (HAAs) with the intention of raising the housing quality and removing the underlying causes of housing stress in small areas of multiple deprivation. This piece of legislation reflected the shift in resource deployment from housing clearance and redevelopment to housing improvement and the growing use of area-based policies (Short & Bassett, 1978, pp. 153-7). Grants became available to buy and refurbish tenement housing.

21 GoHA started to act as buyer, developer, and manager (factor) of tenement housing and became a major local agent of housing renewal. Community action through GoHA allowed Govanhill to retain its period housing stock and reflected the community's will to preserve and improve, rather than demolish, the intricate and elaborate community infrastructure of tenements, shops, pubs and small businesses, at a time when the shift in favour of preserving the existing housing stock was clearly gaining ground in local and national government. Preservation and improvement of the existing housing stock was complemented by new building in gap sites. By the 1990s, GoHA had developed into one of the largest housing associations in Glasgow, managing a large stock of low-cost rented accommodation (Thomas, 1999, p. 121).

22 In 1991, local people established Govanhill Community Development Trust (GCDT) as a wholly owned subsidiary of GoHA to develop physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration initiatives. The latter complement the Housing Association's housing development programmes in the area. GCDT also manages commercial property in the neighbourhood and organises the delivery of community development activities. The profits from GCDT's property activities help to support
community development initiatives, along with funding from national and local government and other charitable organisations.

23

In the first ten years of the GoHA's existence, most tenement housing in Glasgow was treated on a "patch and repair" basis. Today's small flats (80% are 1 and 2-bedroom flats) in the neighbourhood's tenements are the legacy of the housing association's first ten years of operation, when it had to do with the state of the existing stock and the legal and funding opportunities of the time. It took these ten years for a more comprehensive approach to rehabilitation to be adopted—the Comprehensive Tenement Improvement approach, where grants were available both to community-controlled housing associations to buy and improve the flats and to owners who wished to upgrade their property. This led to the improvement of tens of thousands of tenement flats throughout Scotland, predominantly in inner city areas (but also in peripheral estates, where "modern" tenements were built after the Second World War). Whole blocks were improved to higher standards and the mix and size of housing layouts within the tenements was altered.

24

However, GoHA funded social rented housing only, which increased the contrast in streets with a predominance of Housing Association tenants and streets with a predominance of low-income owner occupiers (mostly Pakistanis) who did not seize the funding opportunities. There was actually a considerable under-representation of minority ethnic groups in Housing Association homes, the two main drivers for this being their preference for owner occupation and institutional racism (Thomas, 1999). This resulted in the creation of clusters of sub-standard houses where ethnic minorities —mainly Asian populations—concentrated and which they were unable and/or unwilling to improve and maintain.

25

The overall (rather slow and patchy) process of improvement of the tenements was brought to a halt by a combination of legislative and societal changes. The Housing (Scotland) 2006 Act and changing patterns—individual, economic and political—regarding ownership, rehabilitation, new provision and investment in housing in the early 2000s marked a turning point in Scotland, with deep-lying long-term consequences. They are identified as follows by Glasgow and the West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations (GWSF, 2015, pp. 4–5):

* the lack of financial support for private owners, particularly for improvements;

* a changed grant system from the Scottish Government which made CTI almost impossible;

* a new law introducing Housing Renewal Areas²² rather than Housing Action Areas, with the (relatively) new Housing Renewal Areas never having been used in Glasgow and the west of Scotland;

* a greater focus on new provision than on maintaining and making the best of the existing stock;

* a growth in property values, which often led to owners being "property rich but income poor";

* an increasingly complex ownership pattern with a rapid increase in the number of private landlords;

* a reluctance from owners including private landlords to take a long view and invest in their properties;

* a lack of effective management of many tenements—and a lack of priority for the local authority to take enforcement action (in part because repair grants have been under severe pressure).
26

No more central and local government support for Comprehensive Tenement Improvement programmes in Glasgow (and elsewhere) proved critical in bringing the refurbishment of tenement housing to a halt, while it was obviously not fully completed by that time, given the scale of the problem. This has allowed the deterioration in the condition of tenements to continue apace over the last 15 to 20 years, with Govanhill being no exception. As they are very old buildings, sometimes suffering from very low levels of maintenance, the problem is particularly acute in pre-1919 traditional tenements which make up the most part of the housing stock in areas such as Govanhill (GWSF, 2019, p. 3).

27

The complex form of tenement housing is a critical obstacle to refurbishing. Some tenement blocks have remained entirely privately owned, when others are mixed tenure blocks, with some flats belonging to housing associations and others still privately owned. This often makes the “factoring” of the blocks a challenge, all the more so in entirely privately owned blocks where it is difficult to agree on investment plans and repair works for the common parts, allowing for their progressive deterioration. Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations rightly stresses that, whether they are listed or not, tenements are “a fantastic, but complex, building form. [They] can provide a very long life, but it needs all the owners to agree to regular upkeep of the whole building. If any individual part is not well maintained, it has an impact on the whole structure. This needs good management, ongoing maintenance and the planned replacement of parts that reach the end of their life” (GWSF, 2015, p. 3). Factoring can, to some extent, be easier to implement in blocks where housing associations have a majority interest and act as factor. However, repair works always need all owners to agree, while improvements only need a majority of owners to agree (GWSF, 2019, p. 9).

28

The changes in the 2000s have been instrumental in creating major structural changes in Govanhill's housing landscape: a substantial reduction in owner occupation, the rapid growth of private landlordism at the lower end of the market, a major influx of migrant workers from eastern European countries, increases in population density, and the subsequent deterioration of the building fabric and environmental conditions. A total of 13 housing blocks in South-West Govanhill—around 1,400 homes—had remained “unimproved” in the early 2000s. This has had an enduring legacy as this rather small area continues to experience the most significant housing problems. Much of the housing in this area remains very poor-quality stock with very high concentrations of private landlords, high turnover of tenants, low levels of owner occupancy, low concentrations of responsible factoring and often extreme overcrowding.
<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>Figure 11. – Staircase in Queen's Drive tenement.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_14.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_15.png" /><figcaption>Figure 13. – Single-glazing tenement window on Calder Street.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_16.png" /></figure>

<footnote n="29">29 The bigger picture does not really fare better. In Glasgow, the City Council estimates that there are about 7,000 sub-standard tenement flats (meaning that they would</footnote>
theoretically be subject to CIT), that is 8% of the total number of the 77,000 pre-1919 tenement houses (which represent 25% of the City's housing stock). A sample survey of tenement buildings carried out by Glasgow City Council between 2018 and 2020 to establish their condition showed that one-third of the buildings surveyed did not have a factor; 5% of the buildings were found to be in a state of serious disrepair; and roofs in particular require attention due to their age and lack of maintenance (GCC, 2021). Beyond tenemental housing, the scale of the housing disrepair is captured by the Scottish Housing Condition Survey 2019 which estimates that in Glasgow 51% of owner-occupied dwellings and 60% of private rented dwellings have critical disrepair²³ with higher proportions of critical disrepair evident in older and flatted housing.

30

In Govanhill, where “the scale and particularly complex nature of the problems may make it unique” (GWSF, 2019, p. 9), a strategy of acquisition has been agreed and implemented jointly by Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government and Govanhill Housing Association. It aims at promoting a sustainable tenure balance, stabilising the problematic groups of tenement blocks by addressing overcrowding and poor condition, meeting housing needs through the allocation of social rented tenancies, supporting new tenants and residents, introducing a programme of preventative maintenance by promoting factoring services and maintenance plans and reducing/ eliminating poor landlord practice (GWSF, 2019, p. 9). Landlords have been offered the possibility to sell their house to become part of GoHA housing stock for social renting.

31

Initially set up for two years (2015–17), the South West Govanhill Buy and Repair Programme identified four tenement blocks—between Annette Street, Dixon Avenue, Westmoreland Street and Calder Street—containing a total of 581 properties within 76 tenements close (5 of which were factored by GoHA) to purchase and improve some of the poorest quality housing in the area.²⁴ The Scottish Government committed £4.3 million to cover GoHA’s acquisition and repair costs. Glasgow City Council earmarked £3 million from its Affordable Housing Programme and £2 million for the Private Sector Housing Grant. This paved the way for a follow-on programme over 18 tenement blocks, with GoHA securing a further £34 million in funding for a 4-year programme which has further been extended to 2023–24.²⁵ In 2019, GoHA had bought its 300th property in Govanhill. Three years later, GoHA had bought more than 360 properties, with funding from the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council.

32

Fighting dereliction and unscrupulous slum landlords has also been made possible by legislation. Glasgow City Council has used Statutory Enforcement Action for Common Repairs to ensure common repairs can proceed (GCC, 2024). Glasgow City Council also became the first in Scotland to be granted powers to designate an Enhanced Enforcement Area (EEA) under Section 28 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014. The Enhanced Enforcement Area Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2015 enable a local authority to apply for additional discretionary powers so that it can target enforcement action at an area characterised by poor conditions in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) (Scottish Government, 2017). In 2017, it was announced in the local press that the scheme was to be used by Glasgow City Council to buy up to 500 properties to tackle “shocking squalor” and “landlords with serious criminal convictions” (Dick, 2017). It is quite unclear, however, why only the latter would be targeted, as this implies that landlords who rent sub-standard houses but don’t have any serious criminal record wouldn’t be.
33

Legislation allows the local authority to inspect houses which are suspected to be substandard, to ban landlords from renting properties and eventually use compulsory purchase laws (Scottish Housing News, 2017). At least 33 private landlords in Glasgow have had their registrations refused or revoked to date, most of whom have links with Govanhill—if we are to believe the local press.

Conclusion

34

Policy shifts have deep-lying long-term consequences in housing, as in many other domains. In the case of the ticking-time bomb of tenemental housing dereliction, there is no doubt that compulsion is necessary for private owners to help maintain a building they share with other households. But compulsion has strong political implications. Compulsory sinking funds to pay for ongoing maintenance costs are very much likely to be unpopular, as could be compulsory owners' associations and five yearly inspections of the common parts of tenements. In the context of mixed tenure in tenement blocks, where private landlords share closes with housing associations and the dereliction of some tenements is a critical issue, a clear and long-term strategic approach is absolutely necessary to make sure that maintenance is effective.

35

The challenges of tenemental housing in Govanhill are not the neighbourhood's only challenges. The originally working-class predominantly white area of Govanhill has been transformed, through several waves of migration, into a multicultural post-industrial neighbourhood. Established residents of the neighbourhood express a sense of growing crisis and blame for local decline is frequently placed on migrants and, in particular, Gypsy migrants from Eastern Europe. Community life has been another challenge in Govanhill but the critical stories about the neighbourhood may not be representative of the civic pride and diversity within the neighbourhood. There is a vibrant community activity in Govanhill, with the Govanhill Baths Community Trust spearheading three major projects in the fields of health, social enterprise, well-being, the arts, the environment and heritage. Regular festivals and community events are organised throughout the year and make a decisive contribution to the vitality of the district and to community life. Community involvement clearly acts as a way to overcome the challenges raised by multiple deprivation, immigration, integration, squalid housing and overcrowding.

36

As can be expected, the neighbourhood is not immune to gentrification, the most obvious signs of which are the “artisan coffee shops, organic food stores and trendy restaurants continually popping up” (Dibb, 2020) around Victoria Road. While the community-led housing association works to provide affordable housing, rents are rising and accommodation in the private renting sector is becoming unaffordable—the average rent for a two-bed flat in the area was over £800 a month in 2022 (Spaghetti for Brains, 2022). The neighbourhood has attracted young professionals, which has increased rising property values (and rents). As a result, low-income residents who don’t (want to) have access to social housing are being priced out of the neighbourhood, with a long-term impact on the overall social fabric of the community and local culture and identity (More, n.d.). In the context of an acute housing shortage in Scotland, further research is needed on the complexity and ever-changing patterns of the interrelatedness of spatial and social/demographic trends in mixed-tenure
neighbourhoods such as Govanhill and on how community activism can mitigate social inequalities—such as class, income and wealth, race/ethnicity, gender and housing.

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## NOTES

1. It is estimated that there are over 5,000 Roma people living in Scotland, with the majority living in Glasgow's Govanhill area. The Roma population is perceived as contributing greatly to the "ghettoisation" of Govanhill (see the very complete study by Mullen, 2016). It is believed to be very poor, and to suffer from an average life expectancy of at least ten years less than that of the British population.

2. The *Glasgow Times*, the *Scottish Daily Express* or the *Scottish Mail*. Following Jan Grill (2012, p. 42), Ashli Mullen dates the beginning of the demonisation of the Roma community living in Govanhill back to March 2007. This is a short time after Romania and Bulgaria officially joined the European Union on 1 January 2007.

3. Until the 18th century, the settlement of Glasgow was in fact confined to the north of the River Clyde.

4. This is specific to Scotland. It refers to a right to the use of land in return for a fixed annual payment (feu duty).

5. Some street names reflect the influence of the Dixon family: Dixon Road, Dixon Avenue, Annette Street, Daisy Street to name but a few.

6. Its creation was made possible by the Glasgow Improvement Act 1866.

7. Stonehouse was designated as the sixth Scottish new town in 1972 but abruptly abandoned in 1976 after less than 100 houses were built (Jeannier, 2023, pp. 87–108).

8. Some buildings were listed as soon as 1970.

9. Buildings are listed according to their architectural and historical interest by Historic Environment Scotland under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. Listed buildings fall into three categories: A, B and C. Category A-listed buildings have the highest architectural and historical interest.
10. See <www.govanhillbaths.com/projects/> for detailed information about Govanhill Baths Community Trust's projects. The history of the Baths has been documented by Helen de Main (ed.), *United We Swim*, Edinburgh, Luath Press, 2015 and Bruce Downie, *99 Calder Street: A History of Govanhill Baths and Washhouse*, Glasgow, Govanhill Baths Community Trust, 2021.

11. It was funded by William Dixon, designed by Scottish architect Frank Stirrat (1833-1895), built in the Scottish baronial style, and formally opened in 1879. It used to serve as Crosshill and Govanhill Burgh Hall. As their population was rapidly increasing, Crosshill and Govanhill were granted burgh status respectively in 1871 and 1877 before they were incorporated into the City of Glasgow in 1891. It is currently a daycare centre for elderly people. The Dixon Community, a charity established in 1972 to support elderly people and their carers took over management of the building, refurbished the assembly hall and converted the structure into a daycare centre for elderly people in 1978.

12. It was built in 1906 as one of Glasgow's seven Carnegie Libraries. Its Baroque style was designed by architect James R. Rhind, with columns, statues and a sandstone dome.

13. Egyptian-themed cinema built in 1926 and designed by Scottish architect Eric A. Sutherland (1870-1940). It seated 1,200 people and remained in use as a cinema until 1961 and then as a bingo hall until 1970. It was then used as a warehouse. It was re-roofed in 2012 and used again as a cinema in 2018 and 2019.

14. Govan Trinity on Daisy Street (Church of Scotland, Category B-listed building); Govanhill Free Church and Holy Cross Catholic Church (Category B-listed buildings), both on Belleisle Street; Strathbungo Parish Church on Pollokshaws Road (Category B-listed), Victoria Evangelical Church (on Langside Road) and The Tron Church (at the corner of Victoria Road and Prince Edward Street) are not listed buildings though. Queen's Park Govanhill Parish Church and Hall, Queen's Park Baptist Church, Seventh Day Adventist Church are all located on Queen's Drive and are Category B-listed buildings on top of being located in Crosshill's conservation area. Govanhill workspace (at the corner of Warren Street and Dixon Road) used to be a church. Built in 1922-23, it was converted in 1994.

15. Cuthbertson Primary School, Hutcheson's Grammar School, St Bride's Primary School (former Strathbungo Primary School), Holy Cross Primary School, Annette Street Primary School, Holyrood Roman Catholic Secondary School.

16. The 1980 local plan delineated the area following the major roads and railway lines: Victoria Road to the west, Aikenhead Road to the east, the main Glasgow Central Railway Line to the north, and Dixon Avenue and Dixon Road forming the southern edge.

17. The Urban Programme, also known as Urban Aid, was introduced in 1968 throughout Britain and existed in Scotland until 1995, when its funds were merged into the new Partnership Programme in 1995.

18. The comparison between 1979 and 1991 is however not completely relevant because of boundaries changes.

19. See Govanhill Housing Association's website (<www.govanhillha.org/find-a-home/our-properties/>) and McKee (2009) for background information on Glasgow's housing stock transfer and the complexity of the process.

20. On the site of the former Larkfield Bus Depot which closed in 2014.

21. See <https://socialhousinghistory.stonewater.org/> and <https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-1974-housing-act-points-the-way-forward-for-social-housing/> for the long term significance of the Housing Act 1974.

22. Housing Renewal Areas were introduced by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. Under Section 1 of the Act, a local authority may by order designate any locality in its area as a housing renewal area (HRA) if it considers: a) that a significant number of the houses in the locality are sub-standard (more than fifty per cent of the houses are sub-standard; or less than fifty per cent are substandard but there is clear evidence to demonstrate that these number are increasing), or
b) that the appearance or state of repair of any houses in the locality is adversely affecting the amenity of that locality. A house is sub-standard as defined under Section 68(i) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 if it does not meet the tolerable standard, is in a state of serious disrepair or is in need of repair and, if nothing is done to repair it, it is likely to: (i) deteriorate rapidly into a state of serious disrepair, or (ii) damage any other premises.

23. Critical disrepair refers to disrepair to building elements central to weather-tightness, structural stability and prevention of property deterioration.

24. The initiative was initially to involve GoHA buying, repairing, letting and then managing up to 80 properties from private owners and landlords in four tenement blocks between Annette Street, Dixon Avenue, Westmoreland Street and Calder Street and take on factoring where it had acquired majority ownership.

25. £20 million from the Scottish Government, £10 million from GCC and £3.24 million from GoHA directly (Govanhill Housing Association, 2022, p. 6).

ABSTRACTS

Govanhill is a densely populated multi-ethnic working-class neighbourhood located in the south side of the City of Glasgow, currently home to about 18,000 people, including the largest Roma population in Scotland and a large Pakistani community. Govanhill is arguably one of the best-preserved Victorian neighbourhoods in Glasgow, but it is also home to a significant number of squalid tenement houses. Considering the very specific nature of the neighbourhood's urban fabric and the significant contribution of Govanhill Housing Association, this paper delves into the neighbourhood's housing issues in relation to its historic environment and Scotland's major shifts in housing policy over the last 30 years or so through two main lenses: the specificities of tenemental housing and the community-based housing association's critical role in providing social rented housing and transforming the neighbourhood.

Govanhill est un quartier populaire multiculturel densément peuplé, situé dans la partie sud de la ville de Glasgow où vivent actuellement environ 18 000 personnes, dont la plus grande population Rom d'Écosse et une importante communauté pakistanaise. Govanhill est sans doute l'un des quartiers victoriens les mieux préservés de Glasgow. Il concentre également un nombre important de logements insalubres. Étant donné la nature très spécifique du tissu urbain de Govanhill et le rôle de l'association communautaire de logements qui y opère, cet article propose de mettre en perspective les problèmes de logement du quartier au regard des changements majeurs de la politique du logement en Écosse au cours des 30 dernières années à travers deux angles d'analyse : les particularités des tenements et le rôle important joué par l'association de logements de Govanhill dans la mise sur le marché locatif de logements sociaux et dans la transformation du quartier.
## INDEX

**Keywords:** Glasgow, Govanhill, tenements, community-based housing association, housing policies

**Mots-clés:** Glasgow, Govanhill, tenements, association communautaire de logements, politiques du logement

## AUTHOR

### FABIEN JEANNIER

Chercheur associé au Laboratoire Identité Culturelle, Textes et Théâtralité (ICTT), Avignon Université
fabien.jeannier@lilo.org

Fabien Jeannier est professeur d'anglais dans un établissement du secondaire dans la région de Toulouse. Il est également chargé d'enseignement à l'Institut national universitaire Jean-François Champollion à Albi. Chercheur en civilisation britannique, il s'intéresse aux questions urbaines, politiques et sociales en Écosse, avec une attention plus particulière pour le processus de régénération urbaine, économique et sociale à Glasgow. Ses travaux concernent également les relations entre nationalisme écossais et immigration et les relations intercommunautaires. Il est l'auteur d'une monographie sur Glasgow (Réinventer Glasgow. De l'atelier du monde à la ville postindustrielle et au-delà, L'Harmattan) publiée en 2023.

Fabien Jeannier is a secondary school English teacher in the Toulouse area. He is also a part-time lecturer at the Institut National Universitaire Jean-François Champollion in Albi. He is a researcher in British cultural studies whose research interests lie in urban, political and social issues in Scotland, with a particular focus on the process of urban, economic and social regeneration in Glasgow. His research also focuses on the relationship between Scottish nationalism and immigration, and inter-community relations. He is the author of a monography on Glasgow (Réinventer Glasgow. De l'atelier du monde à la ville postindustrielle et au-delà, L'Harmattan) published in 2023.