Red Road Flats Demolished For Sport, Sad, sick and embarrassing for Glasgow Options

[droschke7]

I was talking to an acquaintance yesterday who used to work in the office that made that decision, he's no longer working due to ill health, according to him this was signed off on 5 years ago without any thought of the Commonwealth games.

[Billbhein]

When I first heard this story I wondered how they were going to tie this event into the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games? I could imagine the massed Pipers being pushed aside by the orchestra from the Last Night of the Proms playing the 1812 Overture, with the Red Road Flats collapsing to the booms of the finale! Totally mad, as is the person who thought this was a good way to present Glasgow to the world.

This idea should be quietly forgotten, but the flats still have to come down. It would be better picking a wet drizzly night, well before the opening ceremony. Bring them down at around midnight, let the rain deal with the dust cloud whilst most people will be in bed. The Glasgow District Councillor's should be forced to standby with brushes to help with the clean-up as community payback!

Bill

[*Guvin Wullie*]

America was blowing up these flats in the 60's as a failed social experiment when Glasgow stated building them in their failed "Scheme" mentality with low amenities. Glasgow would just not listen to the opposition. They had to be built with enough space apart to allow light and they became wind tunnels gathering litter.

They were doomed to failure because of their single class mentality, ending up in a poor, benefits, drug problems ghetto.

When they blew up their mushroom factory flats in the notorious Glasgow Hutchie E they also managed to blow up some of the spectators. They were told by the builders that the flats were designed for the Mediterranean and not a wet northern climate and insisted on going ahead without air conditioning, etc, anyway.

Red Road, like Sighthill flats, is to be used as a dumping ground for asylum seekers, which shows what they think of them anyway.

These ready made slums were never more than a "committee" inspired solution to create ghettos where they would never dream of living. They are an eyesore and an embarrasement. They were pulled down in Melbourne the remainder left for "asylum seekers etc". They are, these souless monoliths, and always will be a place of social dysfunctionality. For those voices decrying their timely destruction I would say this "Would you want to live in them? Would you want your sons and daughters, grand children to live in them. Cities are always developing, changing and growing. There was a television program recently on how the ancient Romans lived. There were tenaments still on display built 2000 odd years ago. They were regarded as slums even then and as undesireable places to live. They were preserved for posterity but unlike the devoid of character and inspiration they served a function. There is nothing to merit the continuing"preservation of these obnoxious failed experiments in communal living.

[*Guest*]

This absurd nonsense typifies the mentality of the current administration in Glasgow. As many people who have a sense of what is right and wrong have posted there is something seriously wrong with the mindset of the persons who seriously thought this was a way to promote the financial disaster of the Commonwealth Games. Large swathes of property have been destroyed and the long term self interest of some individuals and their organizations has been pandered to at great cost to the people of Glasgow. We should remember who was the council leader at the time that this nonsense was foisted on the city and what his weaknesses were. Future generations will still be paying for this nonsense when the much vaunted rebuilding programme is once more a collections of slums.

[*Guest*]

My old mum lived in such a high rise at Knightswood. It was a miserable place, several stories up and should have been demolished. My last visit there 25 years ago was depressing. Her balcony was home to thousands of squealing pigeons which had turned the balcony into a guano cave. I tried to bring her to Australia but the then Labor Govt. wouldn't allow her in because she wasn't Asian. Nevertheless, turning the demolition into a rich man's circus seems to be what governments of all stripes do when they need to create massive sports arenas.

"This is an act of terrorism perpetrated by the Council and should be treated as such."

[taurus]

Sydney is still paying off the "best ever Olympic games" 14 years later.The tourist income doesn`t justify the financial burden placed on the city.The hotels and folk like that make some money from exorbitant prices,but the bottom line is a heap of debt for the host city.Away back in 1993 when Sydney was announced as the winner (to great back slapping and hugging among the councillors) the 'loser' would have been more apt, the carnival atmosphere around the place for a couple of weeks was not value for money.I sincerely hope the games bring some kind of fortune to our dear green place,but I`d be surprised if the man in the street gets any benefit from it just like here. Infrastructure suffered and is still suffering for a State Govt. crying poor mouth.I hope with all my heart the council will do a back flip on the public spectacle of the implosion. A big pipe band and Scottish dancers would be the go for the opening.

[tamhickey]

Yes, the Red Road flats are due to come down, but to do it in this way with the world watching is hugely embarassing. The council will make it look as if they're redeveloping the city with these scenes, but the council have refused to spend any money in the Springburn/Balornock/Barmulloch areas for many years. Take a look at the dilapidated state of Springburn Park nowadays, what passes for a shopping centre in Springburn, zero places for the community to meet up in Barmulloch ie, no bars, cafes, restaurants, bingo halls any longer, very little provision in Balornock either and the council's decision to demolish Springburn's community centre despite it just needing some TLC.

Investment? If anything investment in this part of the city has been withdrawn for decades now, and neither our local MPS, MSP'S and councillors have done anything to stop the slow degeneration of this area. The council made millions from Central Government in order to house Asylum Seekers yet we haven't seen a penny being spent by them here. (By them, I mean the council).Now they plan to disgrace this area even further thanks to a middle class eejit who no doubt doesn't even live in the city, unless it's in the leafy suburbs. Disgraceful.

[ktv]

Yes, the Red Road flats are due to come down, but to do it in this way with the world watching is hugely embarassing. ...

You said everything i was about to.

It is a disgrace the way the area has been abandoned for years and now being used to make the council look good.

[*Peter Docherty*]

The Health & Safety Executive should study & analyse the proposals to produce a report on the safety aspect of all the asbestos dust that will be produced in the atmosphere. Asbestos is not a great hazard as long as it is not broken up. It is the dust particles that cause all the problems, i.e. cancer of the lungs, etc. One can only imagine the amount of dust that will be produced by the demolition. What are these people thinking of ? Certainly not the health of the people that they bare supposed to represent.

[ktv]

Pete

All the asbestos has been removed from the blocks....thats what theyve been doing for the last 5 years.

[**Stillroom**]

Words fail me how on earth can they think that this would show the world the best of Glasgow, how about the achievements of all our inventors etc.

After reading this mornings paper I shouldn't be surprised this is the council that refused to fly the flag for returning soldiers!!

[*John Bogie*]

I would like to know who thought up this lame brained idea in the first place, if it was anything to do with Alex Salmond and the scottish government....... then I know which way I will be voting come September. Sorry Alex. Whoever it was should be sacked immediately, what sort of message does this relay to the rest of the world ?

IDIOTIC IDEA !

[GG]

[...] After reading this mornings paper I shouldn't be surprised this is the council that refused to fly the flag for returning soldiers!!

Last month, they did something just as bad, if not worse:

Council snub tribute plan for Glasgow war hero

Officials have turned down a request from the community of Nitshill to name a new street after Sergeant John Meikle, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism during the First World War.

Sergeant Meikle died as he single-handedly, and armed only with a revolver and a stick, took out a German machine gun.

The former Nitshill railway station clerk was given the UK's highest military honour, for "conspicuous bravery and initiative".

But despite his legend, there is no memorial to him in the city after it was vandalised in the 1970s and moved to Dingwall in the Highlands, where his battalion was stationed during the war.

Local people, backed by Greater Pollok councillor David McDonald, have since been looking at ways to honour the fallen hero.

They approached a company building homes on disused land near the station with the idea of naming a new street after Sergeant Meikle. Councillor McDonald said they agreed it would be a fitting tribute.

But the plans hit the buffers after Glasgow City Council wrote to councillor McDonald stating that their guidelines "do not allow the use of names of people", dead or alive, to be used for streets.

Mr McDonald has hit out at the "stupid policy" and urged the council to overturn it.

GG.

[DavidT]

guidelines "do not allow the use of names of people", dead or alive, to be used for streets...said a council spokes person from an office in GEORGE Square.

These people have no respect and no understanding of what or who the city should honour. It seems that every day they come out with more and more shameful and embarrassing statements.

[stratson]

Get them out! You know not to vote this lot in next local election.