The Development of Housing in Scotland

ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: COMPARATIVE URBANIZATION Volume 9 THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING IN SCOTLAND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING IN SCOTLAND DOUGLAS NIVEN First published in 1979 by Croom Helm Ltd This edition first published in 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1979 Douglas Niven All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-367-75717-5 (Set) ISBN: 978-1-00-317423-3 (Set) (ebk) ISBN: 978-0-367-77317-5 (Volume 9) (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-77336-6 (Volume 9) (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-00-317087-7 (Volume 9) (ebk) Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING IN SCOTLAND DOUGLAS NIVEN CROOM HELM LONDON ©1979 Douglas Niven Croom Helm Ltd, 2-10 St John's Road, London SW11 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Niven, Douglas The development of housing in Scotland. 1. Housing policy-Scotland 301.5'4'09411 HD7335.A3 ISBN 0-7099-0159-3 Printed in Great Britain by Biddies Ltd, Guildford, Surrey CONTENTS Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 11 1. Historical Background 13 2. Housing in Scotland, Housing in Europe 32 3. Housing in Scandinavia 48 4. Housing in the Public Sector 68 5. Priorities, Facts, Figures and Numbers 84 6. Housing in the Private Sector 96 7. Architects, Planners and Builders 103 8. Housing Societies and Associations 116 9. Possibilities for the Future 124 Index 132 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Tenements at Hyndland, Glasgow. Architects: John McKellar and C.J. McNair. 2.TheStudy,Culross. 3. Terraced Housing at Delft, Holland. Architect: Herman Hertzberger. 4. Flats at Otaharju near Helsinki, Finland. Architect: Heikki Kaija Siren. 5. Terraced Housing at Moss Park, Glasgow. Architect: Glasgow Council. 6. Mixed Development at Cowcaddens, Glasgow. Architects: Walter Underwood & Ptrs. 7. Private Housing at Marly Green, North Berwick. Architect: Calthorpe and Mars. (Photograph by Inglis Stevens.) 8. Great Western Terrace, Glasgow. Architect: Alexander Thomson. 9. Flats at Comiston, Edinburgh. Architect: James Gray. 10. Flats and Maisonettes at Bridgend, Perth. Architects: James Parr & Ptrs. 11. Proposed Urban Renewal at Raeberry Street, Woodside, Glasgow. Student: Tommy Thomson, Tutor: Douglas Niven. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to thank the many individuals and organisations in Scotland who helped to provide information for this study. My thanks are also due to Professor F.M. Martin of the Department of Social Administration at Glasgow University for his encouragement and advice. Finally, I acknowledge the generous support given to the study by the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust, and in particular to the help given me by the Director, Mr Lewis E. Waddilove. Douglas Niven, Mackintosh School of Architecture, University of Glasgow, Glasgow. INTRODUCTION The Scottish housing problem is legendary; created mainly by the Industrial Revolution, its origins lie far back in the country's social, political and economic history. It is important to note that Scotland has never enjoyed a coherent, appropriate or particularly humane housing policy. In the recent past undue emphasis on public sector housing has distorted Scottish housing programmes and so restricted all other forms of housing tenure that many Scots now expect local authorities to act as the principal supplier of housing, and believe that they have little choice in the matter of how they are housed and where they live. Prior- ity given to the number of local authority house completions between 1950 and 1970 to the exclusion of many other important consider- ations and suitable alternatives can now be regarded as a short-sighted policy and represents, in physical terms, a poor investment for the future. Much has already been written on the nature and condition of Scot- tish housing since the report by the Royal Commission published in 1917 first drew attention to severe overcrowding and poor living conditions in the rural and urban areas of Scotland. A number of excellent publications have been written on the subject, particularly those issued on behalf of the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee; these publications, however, have limited application in that they tend to deal with spec- ific problems and do not necessarily give lay people an opportunity to take a broad view of housing affairs, or to comprehend some of the bewildering ramifications which bedevil Scottish housing today. Official explanations by politicians, civil servants and government experts are of necessity rarely objective and often lead only to further confusion in the mind of the general public. There are a number of surprising omissions in the existing published material on Scottish housing: for example, few comparisons have been made between Scottish housing policies and programmes and those which are carried out in other parts of the world. This applies particularly to Europe and Scandinavia. An independent observer might con- clude, with some justification, that recent Scottish housing programmes had been devised in total isolation and without making reference to housing activities in the rest of the world. Since 1950, private builders have made a very modest contribution to 11 12 Introduction Scottish house-building programmes. This section of the Scottish building industry apparently prefers to keep a low profile and sees little necessity for documentation and publication. Not much is known about the workings of the private sector and very little seems to have been written on the subject. The problems faced by housing designers in Scotland has never received much publicity. Housing design is currently inhibited by a stultifying administrative and technical bureaucracy both at local and national levels which has nearly succeeded in stifling creative housing design in Scotland. This does not excuse the abysmal standard of design which has characterised so many housing developments in the recent past-that is another story. Little is also known about the potential of the voluntary housing movement in Scotland. Housing associations and housing co-operatives have formed a vital 'third arm' to housing programmes in Europe and Scandinavia for many years. The movement is only now beginning to make a significant contribution to Scottish housing programmes; until comparatively recently, successive British governments have either ignored or given little support to these organisations in Scotland. This study presumes to give an over-view of Scottish housing including the aspects mentioned above and also takes an 'un-official' look at the public sector. It is hoped that the book will give some insight into past and present housing problems and that it may stimulate further and more detailed study; it may even give policy makers and admin- istrators an incentive to think more positively and humanely on housing matters in the future. 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND I Social and economic conditions altered rapidly and dramatically in Scotland during the nineteenth century. The Industrial Revolution came early to the country; the pace and rate of change was faster, cruder and more concentrated over a smaller area than in England. Inadequate provision was made for housing expanding populations in newly created industrial areas; gross overcrowding was the sickening by-product of successful industrial expansion in Victorian Scotland. Acute social problems were created during this period which still cast a blight on Scottish life in the latter half of the twentieth century. Other factors, apart from the effects of the Industrial Revolution, have had considerable bearing on the condition and nature of Scottish housing, and these must not be overlooked in any historical summary of housing in Scotland. Agriculture still formed the basis of the Scottish economy at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Nearly three quarters of the pop- ulation, which at that time was about a million people, gained their livelihood directly from the land, following methods of cultivation favoured since medieval times. Antiquated farming techniques, agri- cultural blight and a wholly unreliable climate led to recurring crop failures creating a fear of famine in many rural communities throughout Scotland. During the previous century prolonged periods of political and religious strife had also created distress and uncertainty throughout the countryside. In these trying circumstances there was little incentive for country people to build substantial or permanent dwellings and this was reflected in the 'farmtoun' settlements, which were scattered around the countryside at the turn of the century. Houses within these settlements were described by a contemporary historian as 'crudely construct- ed shelters of dry stone walling, built without mortar, with branches or rough spars for the roof and proofed against the elements with straw and turf. The floors of the buildings were often bare earth, the windows were small, with little or no glazing and many had no chimney or proper fireplace. A typical settlement consisted of six or more such dwellings, each having its own kailyard, stackyard and midden; these were set in no particular order or pattern upon a treeless landscape. The surrounding 13 14 Historical Background land was divided into 'run-rig' or narrow strip fields and ground was set aside for common grazing.

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