Abandoned Glasgow flats to be turned into homes for homeless after council takeover

Three flats in Glasgow are to be turned into socially-rented homes for homeless people or families after being taken over through a compulsory purchase order (CPO).

Glasgow City Council has taken over the properties in Easterhouse, Govanhill and Yorkhill and will transfer them to housing associations.

A council committee agreed on Thursday to the CPO of the flats, located at 12 Balcurvie Road, Easterhouse, 221 Allison Street, Govanhill, and 1263 Argyle Street Flat, Yorkhill.

The flat at 12 Balcurvie Road has been lying empty since February 2020, and after its CPO will be transferred to Provanhall Housing Association.

The housing association is in the process of acquiring three other flats within the same tenement and, following essential common repair works to the common close area and internal improvements, all four flats will be brought back into use as social housing.

The CPO of the flat at 221 Allison Street – lying empty since December 2020 and in poor condition – will allow its transfer to Govanhill Housing Association. The housing association’s acquisition of this flat will allow major common repair works to be carried out and the flat will be brought back to productive use as social housing.

The flat at 1263 Argyle Street has not been occupied since 1999 and appears to have been abandoned.

A number of attempts to contact the owner have been unsuccessful which has prevented Yorkhill Housing Association – who own four other flats in the building – from voluntarily acquiring it. The CPO of this flat will make the housing association a majority ownership, and it will be offered as social housing.

Funding for acquisitions will be made available from the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets at Glasgow City Council, said: “Today’s decision to compulsory purchase these flats continues the council’s work to not only provide homeless people and families with new homes, but brings empty homes back into productive while increasing the supply and improving the quality of the city’s housing stock.

“We will continue to use such powers and our partnership with local housing associations to make more homes available in Glasgow.”