West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative is a housing co-operative and registered social landlord on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated in Cambuslang the co-operative is a social housing provider managing 644 former council housing on the West Whitlawburn estate, housing approximately 2500 residents.[1][2] As a fully mutual housing co-operative the tenants are members and shareholders and elect a management committee of members to oversee the running of the organisation.[3] Founded in 1989 the co-operative is one of the largest housing co-operatives in Scotland, and one of the few stock transfer social housing co-operatives not to have been converted into a housing association.[citation needed]
.jpg) Some of the blocks of flats on the estate | |
| Company type | Housing co-operative |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 1989 |
Key people |
|
| Revenue | £4,644,342 (2020) |
| £555,915 (2020) | |
| Total assets | £40,500,800 (2020) |
| Members | 681 (2020) |
Number of employees | 36 (2020) |
| Website | wwhc.org.uk |
| Footnotes / references 2020 Annual Report | |
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History
editThe estate was originally developed at the end of the 1960s by Lanark County Council as one of Glasgow's many new peripheral estates. Construction of the six present-day tower blocks was completed in 1970 with a total of 432 flats. The 13-storey pre-fabricated concrete towers blocks were built by Reema Scotland at a total cost of £1.25m.[4][5] The newly built estate also included a number of low-rise blocks of flats.[6][7]
As with many post-war tower blocks the development was initially lauded, with the developers extolling the aesthetics of the towers, the internal features, and the communal laundry.[5]
However, by the 1980s tenants were dissatisfied with the management and upkeep of the properties by the Council alongside issues of crime and drug abuse.[8] Frustrated by the perceived inaction of the council, in 1989 tenants formed a housing co-operative and through the stock transfer process took on the ownership and management of the estate.[8]
In 1996 the co-operative established a community centre on the estate. In 2005 the co-operative became a fully mutual co-operative and a registered charity.[8] As a registered social housing provider the co-operative is regulated by the Scottish Housing Regulator.
In 2008 the co-operative established Whitcomm Co-operative a separate consumer co-operative to provide fibre-optic broadband connections to members of the housing co-operative on a not-for-profit basis. As a consumer co-operative Whitcomm is similarly owned and governed by its customers.[9][10][11][12]
In addition to the original blocks of flats the co-operative has also built an additional 100 low-rise flats on the estate.[8]
To try and address concerns about fuel poverty the co-operative installed a district heating system using a 740 kW woodchip biomass boiler to provide hot water and heating to the properties.[13]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative Ltd". Scottish Housing Regulator. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "West Whirlawburn Housing Co-operative". Scottish Community Alliance. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Birchall, Johnstall (2001). The New Mutualism in Public Policy (PDF). London: Routledge. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-203-47056-7. OCLC 50632526. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Building/Design Report (February 8, 2021, 10:08 pm)". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ a b Dollan, James (17 November 1970). "Hand-over of part of new Cambuslang". The Glasgow Herald. p. 8. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Whitlawburn | Buildings | EMPORIS". Emporis. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Whitlawburn, Cambuslang | Tower Block". www.towerblock.eca.ed.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Background | West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative Ltd". Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "FTTH Empowers Scottish Housing Cooperative" (PDF). Broadband Communities. Vol. 34, no. 2. Texas, USA. March 2013. pp. 26–27. ISSN 0745-8711. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ McLean, Mark (4 July 2018). "Cambuslang housing group gets special recognition in Scottish Parliament". Daily Record. Rutherglen Reformer. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Introduction to Whitcomm". Whitcomm Co-operative Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Digital Britain: The Interim Report (PDF). Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Norwich: The Stationery Office. January 2009. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-10-175482-8. OCLC 313650736. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "District Heating | West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative Ltd". Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.