Article on Hamiltonhill in The Burgh Angel

2006-03-31T03:27:00.000Z

This article is from The Burgh Angel, a local paper...

Residents of Hamiltonhill met last week to discuss the problems facing their area.

The packed public meeting, held at an old shop run by the local Family Learning Centre, on Ellesmere Street, was attended by almost 70 local people, including members of the Board of Queen's Cross Housing Association, who administer Hamiltonhill on the GHA's behalf. Many attendees were unable to get into the meeting room due to the overwhelming attendance.

The meeting discussed problems like rotting floorboards and masonry, the presence of heroin addicts on Hamiltonhill and the threat of demolition. Many residents are unhappy about the way they are being treated. As a result an action group has emerged to organise another meeting and to think about ways to start addressing the problems of Hamiltonhill.

Hamiltonhill has ageing accommodation, much of which has seen little attention in recent years. Rumours are constantly circulating about the possibility of the demolition of the central section of
the old Council estate, and even the whole area.

Graffiti is everywhere, and many streets have rusting fences and broken windows. One local woman even knew two people whose bathroom ceilings had caved in, just in the past two months.

Homeowners who bought their Council houses under the right-to-buy scheme are also
being charged as much as £9000 for re-cladding work, by the Glasgow Housing Association, who undertake repairs for ex-tenants. Some of these people are among the poorest in Britain, in an area where unemployment runs at around 40%.

Whatever the difficulties faced by the tenants and homeowners of Hamiltonhill, there was a sense of satisfaction by the end of the meeting, with many residents offering to contact the authorities on behalf of everyone and a solid campaign is in the offing.

Hamiltonhill Residents' Association Begins

2006-03-21T03:13:00.000Z

Following two meetings of residents of the areas, a new association of residents has started in Possilpark in Glasgow.

Hamiltonhill Residents' Association has come together due to the often overwhelming problems experienced by the local community. Repairs to walls and piping, heroin addicts and the closure of three schools on the estate, are hot topics. More concrete arrangements for campaigning are beginning to form also.

The first officials were elected this last Monday evening, with the first chair facilitating a meeting attended by approximately eighty residents of the estate, as well as representatives of the housing association due to purchase all the social accomodation in the area, and the local councillor.

At the moment, Glasgow's former Council tenants are undergoing a period of massive stress. Many are treated with little or no respect by the Glasgow Housing Association and need urgent repairs to their homes - new floors, whole walls and leaking toilet pipes.

Twenty-eight primary schools are also due to be closed across the City of Glasgow and massive protest has been registered in response.

Hamiltonhill Residents' Association, along with a handful of other new like-minded groups, has its work cut out.