No rest for the Wyndford

Dear readers — it’s all hands on deck at The Bell as spring starts to unfurl across the city. We’re hot on the tail of some pretty juicy stories at the moment but our line is always open for tips. Give us a bell on editor@glasgowbell.co.uk. 

In today’s briefing, we’re bringing you an update on the ongoing face off surrounding the Wyndford: to retrofit or not? That is the question. Although the question seems to have been firmly answered by Wheatley who say: ‘No way, José’. Further down, one half of the duo behind cult food favourite, Parveen’s at Civic House, clues us into her top spots around the city. 

Your Monday briefing awaits. 

Big story: No rest for the Wyndford 

Topline: Bitter division remains ahead of the planned demolition of the Wyndford towers in Maryhill. 

What goes up… must come down? Like many Glasgow high rises before them, the four 26-storey blocks, which comprise about 600 flats within the wider Wyndford Estate, are set to be toppled next month, a demolition two years in the making. All the residents have now been moved out of 120, 151, 171, and 191 Wyndford Road — but not without a years-long fight to save the towers, including an occupation in January 2023. 

The Wyndford Residents’ Union (WRU) would like to see the towers retrofitted rather than brought down. Wheatley has said that the retrofitting of the reinforced concrete structures would be “extremely difficult and costly”. 

Wheatley has suggested that an “overwhelming majority of tenants are fully behind” the plans — claiming that 85% of Wyndford tenants who responded to a consultation supported the regeneration plans, and 87% of tenants living in the four 26-storey blocks earmarked for demolition also backed the proposals.The WRU, for their part, organised their own vote in which 181 households participated: 75% said they were against the demolition and in favour of retrofit.

Retrofit or rebuild? Over the years, the WRU has been backed by big name architects, including Kate Macintosh, Malcolm Fraser and Alan Dunlop, the latter writing an open letter to the Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland in 2023 to urge a rethink of demolition. 

• Campaigners have pointed to the successful retrofit of Cedar Court by the Queens Cross Housing Association, which architects say has reduced carbon by 80%. Fraser Livingstone Architects also wrote a response, ‘In Praise of Sturdy Buildings’ in which they wrote Wheatley was “shamefully” on “the wrong side of history in a city that proudly hosted COP26 and proudly proclaims its Retrofit credentials”. 
• One of the principal objections centres around the lack of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the demolition, which Glasgow City Council ruled not necessary. The campaigners won a judicial review on this point in October 2023, delaying diggers moving in but an appeal last year rejected the claim that GCC had ‘erred in law’ by forgoing an EIA. This cleared the way for Safedem to bring down the towers. 

Delaying the inevitable:The protests, sit-ins, reports and appeals have ultimately done little except stall demolition plans. Yet the heart of the dispute is not really about embodied carbon but rather what the Glasgow of the future should look like. 

In February 2023, a bid to list the towers failed after Historic Environment Scotland concluded the buildings “did not meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest required”. Wheatley Homes Glasgow described the towers as “unpopular and outdated multi-storeys”. Yet many residents enjoyed living in the towers. Alan Dunlop stated that the towers represent the spirit of modernist architect Le Corbusier.   

Homes for the future: GCC and Wheatley, on the other hand, have been on something of a demolition derby in recent decades. The post-war high rise cityscape that was once a vision of the future now seems like an outdated idea of the past Glasgow would like to clear away — one controlled explosion at a time. 

Replacing the Wyndford’s 1960s vision of housing are nearly 400 “energy efficient larger homes”, 85% set at social rent, with lower rise blocks made up of 900 bedrooms to encourage families to the area. Plans also include a new community centre run by GCC and green spaces, improved walkways, and cycle paths. 

Bottom line: But the WRU aren’t buying what Wheatley are selling, saying there is still a loss of 600 homes at social rent under the new proposals. They’re now attempting to take the fight to the Supreme Court, even if the Court of Session refuses permission. 

“There’s two ways to get to the Supreme Court: the most simple way is to petition the Court of Session to allow you to have an appeal to the Supreme Court,” the WRU’s and Alba politician Nick Durie tells The Bell. “On that decision they said no  — that doesn’t mean we can’t appeal — we just need to go directly to the Supreme Court”. 

“The fundamental thing for us is you can’t take away those social homes and replace them with homes for mid-market rent. A loss of 600 homes in a housing crisis is mad but, more than that, it’s the effect on wider society if we don't put our foot down,” Durie adds. We’re sure Wheatley is counting down the days until 23 March. 

Stories you might have missed:

🌱 A long winter for Glasgow’s glasshouses
Glasgow has quite a few winter gardens and, like much of its built heritage, seems to be struggling to maintain them. Tollcross Winter Gardens is the latest site of concern. Despite a £1m revamp less than two years ago, local politicians now tell the Glasgow Times it is lying “empty” and has been the subject of vandalism. 

✟ Why does the Church silence pagans?
Evelyn Hollow of Uncanny fame has strong words for Scotland’s religious establishment in the pages of the Times — calling out both Catholic and Church of Scotland leaders for banning pagans from speaking at a Glasgow 850 event at Glasgow Cathedral. She describes it as an “act of most contumelious disrespect that sets a dangerous precedent for the treatment of pagans in a precarious time of ethnic and religious conflict”. 

Read/listen/watch: How Glasgow’s unique cityscape was sculpted

You’ll instantly recognise the gentle voice guiding viewers through this charming history of Glasgow’s built environment and its world-beating buildings. Bill Paterson takes on narration in ‘A Symphony in Stone’, a 2019 documentary charting the evolution of the city’s urban fabric. Expect to be left with renewed appreciation for the development of the city’s singular style, the fruits of which survive to this day, albeit often embattled.

We also rec: 
🏛 What next for Glasgow?
The Herald’s ‘Future of Glasgow’ series has a raft of standouts, asking questions about where the city goes now as its 850th anniversary dawns.

🔎 Solving a 30 year-old West End murder
In 1984, grandmother Mary McLaughlin was strangled in her Partick flat. Three decades on, DNA profiling led to a breakthrough. In January, BBC Scotland released an hour-long documentary following the twists and turns of the case. There’s a write up too, if you’re short on time. 

Did you catch… our weekend read on Glasgow’s wild waterways? 

Magnet fishing (what it sounds like: hauling metal out of bodies of water, using a magnet) blew up during the pandemic. But so did the drama around it. 

The ensuing story, uncovered by Robbie in our weekend long-read, is a wild ride involving outlaw fishing, a long-running Scottish Canals dispute and accusations of embezzlement. 

Revisit the full feature here. 

Just a perfect day

Every week, one Glasgow resident runs us through their ideal way to spend a day in the city.

Fariya Sharif, 32, co-founder of Parveen’s at Civic House

DAWN: I'm part of a community grassroots football team called Cathkin Blazes. Every Saturday I’m playing football, or watching my team play at GOALS. After we play football, we used to just get a roll at Brooklyn Café, but since the Green Goose opened on Minard Road, we will all pile into there. It's the best crispy filled roll you can get. They do these leek and potato hash browns, which are amazing and a delicious lentil soup, it's insanely affordable. I would then wander over and grab a pastry from Honey Trap, particularly the Italian sausage roll — probably the best vegan sausage roll I've had. Pastry at its finest.

MIDDAY: I'd venture all the way down Pollokshaws Road and get the best pakora — well, maybe the second best pakora — in town, which is, of course, Ranjit’s. I love it in there. If I was going to get the best Pakistani food in Glasgow, I'd be going to my mum's and having a meal there. But sometimes she's out, so that would be where I'd go then. 

I’d also go to La Gelatessa for a little ice cream or really indulgent ice cream float hot chocolate. They put a scoop of ice cream into the hot chocolate, and then whipped cocoa cream on top. I almost cried when I had it. And the ice cream is such top quality. We've done a collab with them as well. They've made a unique ice cream flavour for us — the pistachio cardamom rose — but they don’t sell it in their shop, only we sell it, it’s amazing. 

AFTERNOON: I would probably go down to the Tramway or the Hidden Gardens. I love the Hidden Gardens, just having a little stroll to myself, doing a bit of reading or writing. Or I’d go to Bellahouston Park near where I live, because you don't bump into anyone there, which is a dream, because I've done a lot of socialising by this point.

EVENING: I think my favorite restaurant in the whole of Glasgow at the moment is the Real Wan. I’m getting the hand pulled aubergine noodles — chunky, thick noodles. I don’t know what [the owner] Lea does to make them — I've made the noodles at home, and I've got kind of close to it, but I cannot replicate the Szechuan sauce it comes with. It's delicious. 

AFTER HOURS: I would head east of the city centre to see some live music, either to Saint Luke’s which is such a beauty to be in or the iconic Barrowlands where there's always some class artist playing. My favourite gig there this year has to be LCD Soundsystem but I also recently saw corto.alto, a band local to Glasgow's southside who put on an insane sold out show there — which was mainly most of Govanhill.

Unconstructive critique —  Lanzhou Noodle, Gibson Street

Often overlooked in favour of its neighbour, Noodles and Dumplings, this family-run Chinese spot has quickly become a regular pilgrimage for me. Its hand pulled noodles are a huge draw, even if my personal preference is for a flatter and thicker noodle. But — bear with me — I’m lobbying for the spot to change its name to ‘Aubergine Magic’. What this place does with those purple beauties is beyond belief. Even aubergine sceptics will be converted. “I have never,” declared a friend I took to Lanzhou, “tasted anything like this before”. We were elbows deep in a plate of their chilli garlic aubergine, in a sticky, tangy sauce. If you need any more persuasion, it’s cash only — the true mark of excellence. — Moya. 

Glasgow calendar: A history of erotic letters 

Theatre-maker Rachel Mars is making her debut at Tron Theatre accompanied by a whole heap of non-PG missives. Before WhatsApp, says Mars, we had hand-written letters. And some of them were really dirty. In this show, titled ‘Your Sexts Are Shit: Older Better Letters’, Mars archives them, documenting a history of sexual communications. Think James Joyce and his famous ‘fart’ letter to wife Nora. On 7 March - 8 March, tickets from £14.50. 

Other dates for your diary:

🎶 Didn’t get Oasis tickets? Try a tribute act at Charlie’s Loft
Friday, March 7, 8:30–11:30pm. Tickets from £11.55 

📚Novelist Ewan Morrison in conversation with Carol Craig
Tuesday, March 4, 5:30–7:30pm St George's Tron Church of Scotland. Tickets from £6.