West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative

Last updated

West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative Limited
Company type Housing co-operative
FoundedFebruary 1989 (1989-02)
Key people
  • Paul Farrell (director)
  • Anne Anderson (chair)
Revenue£4,644,342 (2020)
£555,915 (2020)
Total assets £40,500,800 (2020)
Members681 (2020)
Number of employees
36 (2020)
Website wwhc.org.uk
Footnotes /references
2020 Annual Report
The West Whilawburn estate in 1988. Tower Block UK photo cl1-11 (Whitlawburn 1983).jpg
The West Whilawburn estate in 1988.

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 ]

Contents

History

The 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]

References

  1. ↑ "West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative Ltd". Scottish Housing Regulator . Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "West Whirlawburn Housing Co-operative". Scottish Community Alliance. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. 1 2 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.
  6. ↑ "Whitlawburn | Buildings | EMPORIS". Emporis . Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Whitlawburn, Cambuslang | Tower Block". www.towerblock.eca.ed.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Background | West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative Ltd". Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Introduction to Whitcomm". Whitcomm Co-operative Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  12. ↑ 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)
  13. ↑ "District Heating | West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative Ltd". Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
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