| Whitlawburn | |
|---|---|
 Whitlawburn towers viewed from the south-west | |
| Population | 3,500 |
| OS grid reference | NS61815941 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GLASGOW |
| Postcode district | G72 8 |
| Dialling code | 0141 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Whitlawburn is a residential area in the town of Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located south of the town centre on high ground overlooking the Greater Glasgow urban area.
The majority of the housing is a local authority 'scheme' constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s [1] to alleviate housing shortages in the area; [2] [3] in particular, the tight network of poorly-appointed tenements on the north side of Cambuslang's main street was demolished wholesale and its residents decanted to new tower blocks and to the periphery of the town, [4] echoing the events on a larger scale in the Gorbals district of neighbouring Glasgow. The territory was previously pastoral and included the Whitlawburn farm, which took its name from the Whitlaw Burn stream running down from the Cathkin Braes at the western side of the district.
A dual carriageway, part of the A749 road running from East Kilbride to Glasgow, carries a local bus route and also separates Whitlawburn from the adjacent areas of Springhall and Cathkin to the west which are part of the town of Rutherglen – however; most local amenities are shared between the three neighbourhoods. An underpass runs under the road between Springhall and Whitlawburn. To the east, a sprawling network of housing developments at Greenlees spreads out over fields towards Halfway. There is also an entrance to Cambuslang Park.
The Whitlawburn area itself is dominated visually by six near-identical 13-storey tower blocks (named Arran, Ailsa, Benmore, Bute, Kintore and Roslin and containing 432 apartments) [5] [6] [7] on the south side of the main road through the district, with modern tenements arranged in a grid pattern to either side, along with a local retail area (Nisa, Greggs, William Hill, soft play area, etc.). [8] Built using the Reema method of construction and originally uniformly grey concrete and brutalist in appearance, the area was regenerated from the 1990s onwards with the tenement buildings painted/rendered in brighter colours and given pitched roofs (they had originally been flat-roofed [9] despite the frequently wet conditions in the west of Scotland) and the tower blocks fitted with cladding, roofs and ambient lighting in a £21m project. [10] [11]
The towers had the same original design as five others nearby (Springhall, Halfway, three in central Cambuslang), [12] but now have an appearance distinctive from the others as a result of the refurbishment. In 1989, West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative was established by residents who were unhappy with deteriorating housing conditions and out of a sense of unfairness at the tenements being prioritised. [13] The organisation also put in place an extensive CCTV and concierge system. [14]
In 2016, plans which had been in proposed some years earlier [15] were approved to further improve the area by replacing the less popular flats in the eastern part of the scheme with new houses; [16] this followed confirmation that parts of the district were among the most deprived communities in the country according to the 2016 Scottish index of multiple deprivation. [17] When the East Whitlawburn Tenants Management Cooperative handed their managed properties back to council control in 2013, the datazone was in the bottom 0.5% in Scotland for deprivation. [15] By 2019, demolition of some blocks was in progress and local construction firm CCG had drawn up plans for the replacement homes, with a planned completion date of 2021. [18]
The local community centre [19] featuring a 5-a-side football pitch is situated to the south of the towers, as are two small 21st century housing zones: a development of large private residences with a separate vehicle entrance off the bypass road, known as Lomond View, and a group of 100 modest houses built by West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative accessed from the main road. [20] These properties back onto farmland and a golf course (Kirkhill Golf Club) [21] which are part of the green belt at the edge of the Glasgow urban area. However, in 2016 a planning application by Persimmon for 240 new houses in a vacant field (accessed via the road passing the golf club) was approved for construction, [22] despite some concerns regarding possible flooding and school provision. [23] [24] With the development nearing completion in late 2019, residents were surprised to find that their streets were still within the boundaries of the East Kilbride constituency for the 2019 United Kingdom general election, as had been the case before its construction when the land was a field and therefore of little consequence in that context. [25]
On the north side of the road is a system of terraced houses and cottage flats with common parking areas, as well as the local public house, [26] the new buildings of Cathkin High School, a further group of small houses built on the school's previous site (Cathkin Rise by Barratt), [27] [28] [29] and Holmhills Park which leads to the Kirkhill residential area to the north. Coats Park, the ground of Cambuslang Rugby Club, is also nearby.
Administratively, Whitlawburn lies within the Cambuslang West ward of the South Lanarkshire Council area which is also the extent of the neighbourhood community policing zone. [30] [31] The nearest train stations are Burnside and Kirkhill which are both approximately 1 mile from the western end of the district.
The closest schools for younger children are Loch Primary and St Anthony's RC Primary (both in Springhall – the schools are built on adjacent sites, a common occurrence in Scotland, and nowadays share a playground) [32] [33] and West Coats Primary (Kirkhill); however, children living in the new Persimmon development will attend Cairns Primary in Halfway due to capacity issues. For older children, nondenominational Cathkin High School (which also houses a nursery [34] and Rutherglen High School, an additional support needs facility) [35] is on the doorstep of Whitlawburn, but Catholic students have to make their way to Eastfield to attend Trinity High. A standalone pre-school facility, Springlaw ELC (intentionally named after both communities as a gesture of unity) was built on a piece of vacant land in Springhall, opening in 2021. [36]
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and West Lothian. It includes most of the historic county of Lanarkshire.
Rutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, three miles from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow District within the Strathclyde region. In 1996 the towns were reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.
Cambuslang is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be considered the largest village in Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire and directly borders the town of Rutherglen to the west. Historically, it was a large civil parish incorporating the nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, Westburn and Halfway.
Eastfield is a mainly residential district in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located between the industrial towns of Rutherglen and Cambuslang in the south-east of the Greater Glasgow urban area. It is situated south of the River Clyde, adjoining the Stonelaw and Burnside neighbourhoods of Rutherglen, and Silverbank in Cambuslang.
Fernhill is a residential neighbourhood in the Scottish town of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire; it is situated south of the River Clyde and borders the Rutherglen neighbourhoods of High Burnside to the north and Cathkin to the east, the Glasgow district of Castlemilk to the west, and the open lands of Fernbrae Meadows to the south. Its location on a steep incline which is part of the Cathkin Braes range of hills offers panoramic views over the south and eastern parts of Greater Glasgow.
Burnside is a mostly residential area in the town of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Including the neighbourhoods of High Burnside and High Crosshill, respectively south and north-west of its main street, it borders Overtoun Park in Rutherglen plus several other residential areas of the town, as well as western parts of neighbouring Cambuslang.
Kirkhill is a district of the town of Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Trinity High School is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in Eastfield, Rutherglen, Scotland near the city of Glasgow. It was established in 1971. The current head teacher is Allison Craig who took office in 2021 following the retirement of Peter Bollen.
Gilbertfield Castle is a ruined 17th-century castle in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located at NS652587, on the north slope of Dechmont Hill, just outside Cambuslang, to the south-east of Glasgow.
The A730 road in Scotland runs between the centre of Glasgow and the south-eastern edge of the city's urban area at Cathkin.
Cathkin High School is a state secondary school in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
The A749 road in Scotland connects East Kilbride with Glasgow city centre via Rutherglen and Bridgeton.
Halfway is a largely suburban area in the town of Cambuslang, Scotland, located within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. It borders the smaller areas of Lightburn, Cairns, Flemington, Drumsagard and Hallside.
Holmhills Community Park is a recreational area in the southern part of Cambuslang, a town on the south-eastern fringes of the City of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. The area is bordered to the east by Greenlees Road, to the south by Western Road, to the west by Langlea Road, and to the north by Grenville Drive.
CamGlen Radio is a local radio station based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It started broadcasting a full-time service on 19 March 2015.
Newton is a mainly residential district in the town of Cambuslang in Scotland; it is situated directly south of the River Clyde. Newton is within the Cambuslang East ward of the South Lanarkshire Council area. Formerly a mining settlement from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries then sparsely populated for several decades, in the early 2000s it was designated a 'Community Growth Area' for residential development with several hundred houses, a new primary school and associated infrastructure constructed in phases over several years into the 2020s, mostly on fields previously used by a farm which had operated for several centuries before closing around the turn of the 21st century.
Rutherglen South is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 15,322 people.
Cambuslang West is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 14,096 people.
Rutherglen High School is a non-denominational, co-educational secondary school in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, for pupils with additional support needs.
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Media related to Whitlawburn, South Lanarkshire at Wikimedia Commons
