Latest news with #WheatleyHomes
Daily Record
15-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Social landlord's communities across West Lothian gets top marks in report from leading environmental charity
Wheatley Homes communities were assessed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the national environmental charity helping create cleaner and greener local environments. A social landlord's communities across West Lothian have received top marks in a report from a leading environmental charity. Wheatley Homes communities were assessed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the national environmental charity helping create cleaner and greener local environments. Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) staff joined Wheatley Homes staff and tenants to assess neighbourhoods, inspecting back courts and open spaces as well as foyers and stairwells across West Lothian. Wheatley Homes communities in West Lothian has now been awarded five stars – the highest grade possible – and a score of 88%. Laura Henderson, Managing Director of Wheatley Homes East, said: 'We want our communities to be places people are proud to live in and this award from Keep Scotland Beautiful is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our environmental staff across West Lothian. 'They work hard to make sure our neighbourhoods always look their best for our customers.' The report recognised Wheatley's efforts in a number of streets in West Lothian. It stated: 'The tenement property scoring benefited from the overall excellent condition of the external grounds of the properties; including the physical condition of the building walls, absence of obstructions in the guttering, and cleanliness and condition of the access paths and back court hard standing. 'Whilst some of these facilities have been built by design for the tenants, of greater merit was the presence of spaces which have been created by the tenants, to enhance the appearance of the gardens, and create a sense of community within the properties. 'This was demonstrative of an interest from tenants in improving their local area.' Wheatley Group, Scotland's leading housing, care and property-management group, teamed up with Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2016 to help improve neighbourhoods. Paul Wallace, Head of Operations with Keep Scotland Beautiful, added: 'I'd like to congratulate Wheatley Homes for achieving such high standards in our recent assessment. 'We were so impressed to see excellent commitment and pride of all the staff and tenants involved who are working hard to improve and make their communities better. 'Our work with Wheatley, through a bespoke version of our National Award for Environmental Excellence® has spanned a number of years. It provides a framework for continual improvement, recognising and awarding best practice in environmental management, maintenance, waste management and community engagement. 'Our assessors supported Keep Scotland Beautiful Customer Assessor Days in Edinburgh and joined Wheatley Homes East staff on site visits. The properties were presented well and scored highly, and it was clear there was a real sense of pride from the staff.' It was previously reported that more than 1200 tonnes of waste were lifted from Wheatley Homes communities, and 13,600 stairwells cleaned, by NETs staff in 2024. Wheatley's NETs have trained 14 Wheatley Homes customers, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, to assess green spaces and identify any areas where improvement can be made.
Scotsman
14-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Social landlord's communities rated five-star by green charity
A social landlord's communities across Edinburgh have received top marks in a report from a leading environmental charity. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Wheatley Homes communities were assessed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the national environmental charity helping create cleaner and greener local environments. Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) joined Wheatley Homes staff and tenants to assess neighbourhoods, inspecting back courts and open spaces as well as foyers and stairwells. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Wheatley Homes has now been awarded five stars – the highest grade possible – and a score of 87%. NETs staff tidying up Macgill Drive in Edinburgh Laura Henderson, managing director of Wheatley Homes East, added: 'We want our communities to be places people are proud to live in and this award from Keep Scotland Beautiful is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our environmental staff. 'They work hard to make sure our neighbourhoods always look their best for our customers.' Wheatley Group, Scotland's leading housing, care and property-management group, teamed up with Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2016 to help improve neighbourhoods. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The KSB report stated: 'The tenement property scoring benefited from the overall excellent condition of the external grounds; including the physical condition of the building walls, absence of obstructions in the guttering, and cleanliness and condition of the access paths and back court hard standing. "The internal environment of the tenements also performed well, driven by the excellent condition of the communal spaces; with brickwork, paintwork, and flooring all presenting as clean and in good condition, with no visible presence of damage, anti-social markings, or vandalism to be accounted for.' Paul Wallace, head of operations with Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: 'I'd like to congratulate Wheatley Homes for achieving such high standards in our recent assessment. We were so impressed to see excellent commitment and pride of all the staff and tenants involved who are working hard to improve and make their communities better. 'Our work with Wheatley, through a bespoke version of our National Award for Environmental Excellence® has spanned a number of years. It provides a framework for continual improvement, recognising and awarding best practice in environmental management, maintenance, waste management and community engagement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Our assessors supported Keep Scotland Beautiful Customer Assessor Days in Edinburgh and joined Wheatley Homes staff on site visits. The properties were presented well and scored highly and it was clear there was a real sense of pride from the staff.' It was previously reported that more than 1200 tonnes of waste were lifted from Wheatley Homes communities, and 13,600 stairwells cleaned, by NETs staff in 2024. Wheatley's NETs have trained 14 Wheatley Homes customers, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, to assess green spaces and identify any areas where improvement can be made.
Glasgow Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow communities achieved five-star environmental rating
Wheatley Homes, Glasgow's largest social landlord, was awarded five stars in a recent assessment by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The environmental charity evaluated neighbourhoods in north east, north west, and south Glasgow, giving scores of 82.4%, 81.5%, and 82.2 % respectively. This marks the first time Wheatley Homes has received a five-star rating in all three Glasgow areas since it began working with the charity in 2017. Read more: Funding boost of £140,000 changing lives across Glasgow Aisling Mylrea, managing director of Wheatley Homes in Glasgow, said: "We want our communities to be places our customers are happy to call home, and this award from Keep Scotland Beautiful is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams and the pride of our tenants. "This recognition comes at an important time as we start on an ambitious investment programme which will see £156 million spent on improving our homes and communities by 2028. "This includes £53 million being spent on environmental improvements, enhancing green spaces, and ensuring our homes and communities continue to be places where tenants feel safe, connected, and proud to live in." Assessments were carried out by Keep Scotland Beautiful between March 2024 and March 2025. Staff and tenants joined in reviewing back courts, open spaces, foyers, and stairwells in both tenement and high-rise buildings. Read more: Scottish housing group named UK's largest builder of social rented homes Paul Wallace, head of operations at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: "I'd like to congratulate Wheatley Homes for achieving such high standards in our recent assessment. "We were so impressed to see excellent commitment and pride from all the staff and tenants involved, who are working hard to improve and make their communities better. "Our work with Wheatley, through a bespoke version of our National Award for Environmental Excellence, has spanned a number of years. "It provides a framework for continual improvement, recognising and awarding best practice in environmental management, maintenance, waste management, and community engagement. "We very much look forward to continuing our support of the work being done by Wheatley and to sharing this with others across the sector." In 2024, Wheatley's neighbourhood environmental teams removed more than 18,000 tonnes of waste from streets, cleaned more than 250,000 stairwells, and maintained more than 100,000 back courts and gardens. The teams also trained 27 tenants to help assess green spaces and suggest improvements, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful.
Glasgow Times
28-06-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
9 high rise demolitions that reshaped Glasgow's skyline
After the demolition this weekend, Waddell Court will be the only remaining tower block in the Gorbals. The sight of a multi-storey building collapsing under a controlled explosion is nothing new to the city; this is the second in 2025. We thought what better opportunity to look back at the demolitions that have reshaped the city's and local communities' skylines? Read on for our full list: Red Road Flats Red Road Flats being demolished (Image: Mark Gibson) The Red Road flats were demolished in October 2015. Four of the six Red Road multi-storey flats in Glasgow were brought down in a single blast, with two remaining partially upright due to an apparently unforeseen difficulty. The top half of two of the buildings remained standing at a slight angle after the bottom halves were destroyed. Up to 2,500 people were kept from their homes surrounding the site due to the failed demolitions. 9 high rise demolitions that reshaped Glasgow's skyline (Image: Archive) When they were built between 1964 and 1969, the Red Road flats were the highest in Europe, at 292 feet (89 metres). They were at the centre of controversy when Glasgow 2014 chiefs were criticised for planning to demolish the Red Road flats as part of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. They eventually ditched the proposal to blow down five of the six remaining blocks live on television amid fears of a public protest. Wyndford Towers Wynford towers being demolished (Image: Robert Perry) The Wyndford flats, built in the late 60s, were demolished in March of this year by Wheatley Homes, to make way for almost 400 new homes. The four 26-storey buildings at 151, 171 and 191 Wyndford Road were blown up using explosives on March 23, 2025. The fourth block, at 120 Wyndford Road, was dismantled manually by experts. We reported how onlookers cheered as the high-rises disappeared into clouds of dust at noon. Some of them arrived hours earlier to secure a good view of the explosion, others stopped on their walks to observe. Queen Elizabeth Square Demolition of High Rise Flats in Queen Elizabeth Square, 1993 (Image: Newsquest) The Queen Elizabeth Square towers were blown up in a controlled explosion in September 1993. Helen Tinney, 61, was part of a large crowd watching the 22-storey flats' demolition when she was struck by a piece of flying debris. Mrs Tinney died in the Victoria Infirmary after collapsing at the scene of the blast. We spoke to Alex Mclean in 2016, who stayed in Queen Elizabeth Square from when he was born in 1965 until around 1983. He said: '(We) played on corridors until a certain time when we were called in … Corridors two, four and eight were strict and not much play allowed … Great at New Year, most flat doors open and walk-in parties. (Image: Newsquest) 'Chap door runaway was great. (We used to) start at number nine and work our way downstairs to the bottom. Some crafty tenants realised and got the lift to three or four and waited on you coming down and kicked yer a**e. Used to stand on concrete vent on outside of verandah, 14 stories up. Fearless, couldn't do it now! "Most neighbours all looked out for each other and minor disagreements were forgotten … (That) changed when long-term tenants moved out and strangers moved in.' Queens Court, Toryglen Queens Court Toryglen (Image: Newsquest) The tower block immortalised in a Sony TV advert, Queen's Court in Toryglen, was demolished in 2007. The flats, built in 1968, had been empty before award-winning director Jonathan Glazer shot the advert, spraying 70,000 litres of coloured paint 100ft into the sky and over the high-rise. It took just under 10 seconds and under 70 kilos of explosives to blow down the multi-storey tower block made famous by the Sony Bravia TV advert. The high-rise block at 24 Crossbank Road, Toryglen, was demolished to 12,000 tonnes of rubble and was once home to Simple Minds star Jim Kerr. Sighthill Sighthill before the redevelopment of the area (Image: Archive) Sighthill is located in the North of Glasgow and was established in the 1960s. The area was bordered by a dual carriageway and a railway line. The housing scheme featured 10 tower blocks. Some of the tower blocks were demolished in the early 2000s, and the remaining blocks were demolished in 2014. We spoke to Julie Magill in 2016, who lived in Sighthill between 1979 and 2000, from the time she was born until she was 21 years old. She said: 'I enjoyed playing in the blocks because you felt like you were out, but you were still inside, it was like having a massive play area. We used to play with balls under the bottoms of the flats until those were blocked off. I remember the wind whipping through the bottoms and nearly knocking you over when I was little. 'Initially everyone seemed to be the same, families out working hard and keeping the blocks and landings nice. Over time you noticed a lot of drug addicts and alcoholic types moving into landings and the place did start to go downhill. 'I think it's a pretty common feeling among a lot of my peers from the flats that it is ok for those of us who lived in the scheme to talk it down but to get annoyed to hear it from anyone else. Who are they to judge it? I wouldn't change the fact I lived there, I think it helped shape the person I am today.' The area has been redeveloped, and it features a mix of housing types, including owner-occupiers, mid-market rent, and social housing by Wheatley. (Image: Sourced) We reported last month that a new master plan has been submitted, adding even more homes to an already large proposed Glasgow scheme. Papers detail that after a review, applicant Keepmoat is bidding to build 1164 homes as part of the latest phase of the Sighthill Transformational Regeneration Area (TRA), as opposed to the previous 826 planned. The work would continue the £250million project and focus on the connectivity of the North Glasgow site, including on foot, by bike and by car. Documents reveal that this latest wave of housing would be located at the site bound by Pinkston Road, Pinkston Drive, Sighthill Park and Fountainwell Road. Sandiefield Road Towers The 24-storey blocks at 170 and 200 Sandiefield Road were demolished in 2013 (Image: Newsquest) The Sandiefield Road towers were demolished in 2013. Two 24-storey blocks at 170 and 200 Sandiefield Road in Gorbals, Glasgow, were stripped on the inside before the controlled demolition using 229kg of explosives. The towers were completed in 1971. They stood 69m tall and contained almost 400 flats. Mitchellhill Mitchellhill, Castlemilk being demolished (Image: Newsquest) On Sunday November 27th 2005, the skyline of Glasgow was dramatically changed for ever with the simultaneous demolition of the Five 20 Storey Mitchellhill Flats in Castlemilk. The flats, built in 1965, took approximately 300 Kilos of explosives and were levelled in just 22 seconds. We spoke to Jackie Muir in 2016, who lived in the Mitchelhill Flats in Castlemilk from 1963, at the age of one, until 1992. She said: 'The times we spent there were the best of my life, happy memories. We only had two rooms and a living room, and there were five of us kids, mum, and dad. 'I remember my brothers playing 'dreepy', where they would climb the balcony at side of flat and dreepy down to the next one. What were they thinking of? We … went in and out of each other's houses, no doors locked in those days. (Image: Newsquest) "Only thing I hated were the lifts – I used to shout eight flights up to our windows when I got older so my dad would come down in the lift to get me. I was the happiest I've ever been living anywhere else. The sense of community spirit and friendliness was second to none … I would go back to living there again in a second.' Norfolk Court Norfolk Court before demolition (Image: Archive) Designed by George Bowie, Chief Architect at Crudens (the company that also built Sighthill), the two blocks at Norfolk Court were approved in 1970 and completed in 1973. The towers were demolished in 2016. Norfolk Court was a fixture on the city skyline since the 1970s and once housed more than 270 families. One of its most famous former residents was comedian and broadcaster Des Clarke. (Image: Kirsty Anderson) Stirlingfauld Place The multi-storey flats at Stirlingfauld Place in the Gorbals are demolished (Image: Newsquest) The two Gorbals tower blocks were razed to the ground in 2008, with hundreds of people gathering to watch the dramatic event. The blocks in Stirlingfauld Place were once home to up to 2000 people in the 552 flats. They were built between 1970 and 1973 at a cost of £1.8 million but it took £1m to demolish them. A series of loud bangs in the area at 9.50am marked the end of the high-rise flats and the ground shook as the 23-storey blocks fell to the cheers of the crowds.
Glasgow Times
20-06-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
Are refugees given priority for social housing in Glasgow?
Those who get the blame are not necessarily those who caused the problem but often can be suffering from the problem just as much as anyone else. The homelessness crisis in Glasgow has spiralled out of control and shows no sign of abating. In fact, it is getting worse. Today is World Refugee Day and while Glasgow prides itself on being supportive as a city, not everyone approves of rolling out the welcome mat. Many people have argued that migrants and refugees are getting homes ahead of the settled population. Last month, a senior councillor responded to say migrants were not given priority over local people for social housing. The reaction in some quarters was to basically call the councillor a liar. Many people feel that migrants, particularly refugees, are being put to the front of the queue for housing at the expense of people who have lived here all or most of their lives. The language usually refers to 'our own'. So, what are the facts? Homelessness has increased and Glasgow City Council declared a housing emergency in December 2023. Since then, the situation has become intolerable. In the last three months available, February, March and April, the council received 2017 homelessness applications and, of these, 763 were from refugee households. Non-refugee homeless applications outnumbered refugees by more than two to one. At the last count, there were 4236 households in temporary accommodation, including hotels. Of these, 2342 have refugee status. So bad has the homelessness crisis become, the council is forced to spend more than £40million a year on hotels for homeless people just to prevent rough sleeping. In hotels and bed and breakfasts, the council has 1721 households. Of these 1246 have refugee status. Refugees in hotels outnumber non-refugees by almost three to one. Recently, the Glasgow Times spoke to a refugee couple who spent more than a year in a hotel for homeless people. When someone, an individual or family, is granted leave to remain, they are not automatically given a tenancy. Instead, they face the same hardship as other homeless people who are not refugees. Based on the numbers, refugees are more likely to be in hotels than other people. The criteria to be moved out of a hotel into a temporary accommodation flat make no mention of refugee status. Glasgow City Council said: 'Each household's situation is unique, and we make decisions on moving to them to an alternative placement on an individual basis. The Unsuitable Accommodation Order is a factor in the decision to move a household to alternative accommodation.' When asked if there are any circumstances that give priority to someone to be allocated a hotel room or temporary accommodations, the council said there were not. When asked, 'Is there any priority throughout the processes given to people with refugee status that is not afforded to other people?' the answer was: 'No.' The largest provider of social rented homes in Glasgow is Wheatley Homes. Their allocation policy by law is based on housing need. Priority is given to statutory homeless people, people who are living in overcrowded houses, those who are occupying houses which don't meet the tolerable standard and those who have large families and people living under unsatisfactory housing conditions. Again, no specific criteria are mentioned about refugees or arriving in the city from another country. The homelessness emergency has put pressure on Wheatley Homes Glasgow's stock. It commits to give 60% of its new lets in Glasgow each year to homeless households. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, that commitment is for at least 1600 lets. The social landlord has an ambitious wider target of making 11,000 homes available to tackle rough sleeping by the end of 2026. It has several bands based on level of housing need. The top three are: Band A: Wheatley Group tenants who require urgent re-housing to prevent homelessness Band B: Statutory homeless referrals Band C: Preventing homelessness The stated policies of both the council and Wheatley, as the biggest social landlord, do not mention refugees as a category. The numbers in temporary accommodation and the extremely high number in hotels strongly suggest that refugees are not being fast-tracked into tenancies ahead of other people. There is a finite amount of available homes and the flow of people coming through the asylum system is leading to more refugees on the waiting list for housing. But there appears to be no evidence that they are getting preferential treatment. The Glasgow Times also asked the housing minister, Paul McLennan, if refugees or migrants were given priority. He said he knows from his time as a local councillor for many years that is not the case. The increase in asylum seekers in Glasgow who then get refugee status has led to more people who need accommodation. But according to the available numbers, policies and statements, they are treated the same as any other homeless person.
