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Coordinates: 55°48′30″N 4°10′49″W / 55.80826°N 4.180298°W / 55.80826; -4.180298
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Whitlawburn
Whitlawburn towers viewed from the south-west
Whitlawburn is located in South Lanarkshire
Whitlawburn
Whitlawburn
Whitlawburn is located in Glasgow council area
Whitlawburn
Whitlawburn
Location within Scotland
Whitlawburn is located in Scotland
Whitlawburn
Whitlawburn
Whitlawburn (Scotland)
Population3,500 
OS grid referenceNS61815941
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGLASGOW
Postcode districtG72 8
Dialling code0141
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°48′30″N 4°10′49″W / 55.80826°N 4.180298°W / 55.80826; -4.180298

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 slightly north of the Cathkin Braes, overlooking the Greater Glasgow urban area.

Location and housing

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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.

Pedestrian underpass between Springhall and Whitlawburn

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.

Bute Tower, one of six multi-storey blocks in the area

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 "Plattenbau" style tenement blocks arranged in a grid pattern to either side. A retail area was positioned at the centre of the estate - originally this was an Asda supermarket (one of the first in Scotland) which was constructed in 1975, but this site is now a (Nisa, Greggs, William Hill, soft play area, etc.).[8] Built using the Reema method of construction (a large panel system) 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 very different 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]

Lorne Terrace tenements in East Whitlawburn

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]

Field to the south of the neighbourhood (2012) which has since been converted into a housing development

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]

cottage flats off Western Road

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.

Amenities

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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 new Cathkin High School is situated to the north of Whitlawburn; the original was on the main road within the neighbourhood

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]

Notable residents

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References

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  1. ^ Memories of Cambuslang life inspire new book by Lanarkshire author, Jonathan Geddes, Daily Record, 14 August 2021
  2. ^ "Hand-over of part of new Cambuslang". Glasgow Herald. 17 November 1970. p. 8. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  3. ^ 1960: 'Melancholy in the air' as demolishers move in, Russell Leadbetter, The Herald, 18 May 2019
  4. ^ Old Cambuslang, Rhona Wilson; Richard Stenlake, 1996; ISBN 9781872074795
  5. ^ "Cambuslang and Rutherglen housing chiefs act over Grenfell Tower fire fears". Daily Record/Rutherglen Reformer. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Tower Block UK: Whitlawburn, Cambuslang". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Buildings in Glasgow: Whitlawburn". Emporis. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "Home". Kids Complex. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  9. ^ Cambuslang, Whitlawburn, General | Oblique aerial view 1991, Canmore
  10. ^ West Whitlawburn Multi-Storey Flats Overcladding, RIAS
  11. ^ West Whitlawburn Tower Blocks, D+B Facades
  12. ^ The Story of Rosebank Tower, Tower Blocks UK, 16 September 2019
  13. ^ Lesley Riddoch: The epidemic hospitals can't cure, The Scotsman, 2011
  14. ^ "About Us: Background: History". West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  15. ^ a b East Whitlawburn set for major regeneration, Daily Record, 11 September 2013
  16. ^ Whitlawburn set for £44m housing boost, Daily Record, 2016
  17. ^ Rutherglen and Cambuslang communities at top of list of most deprived areas in Scotland, Edel Kenealy, Daily Record, 8 September 2016
  18. ^ Cambuslang masterplan moves ahead with 330 new homes, Urban Realm, 28 March 2019
  19. ^ "Home". Whitlawburn Community Resource Centre. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  20. ^ West Whitlawburn new homes, John Gilbert architects
  21. ^ Reformer Club of the Week: Kirkhill Golf Club, Murray Spooner, Daily Record, 7 August 2016
  22. ^ Greenlees, Persimmon Homes
  23. ^ Cambuslang housing plan is given the go-ahead by councillors, Daily Record, 2016
  24. ^ Parent Council at Cambuslang school furious at plans to increase catchment zone, Daily Record, 2016
  25. ^ Cambuslang voters left bemused ahead of General Election - as they will be choosing East Kilbride's MP in boundary mix-up, Daily Record, 11 December 2019
  26. ^ "Welcome to The Lawburn Inn, Cambuslang's Number One Pub". The Lawburn Inn. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  27. ^ "Barratt homes in on £185m deal to build at school sites". The Scotsman. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  28. ^ Smith, Kenny (30 October 2009). "Demolition underway at old Cathkin High School". Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  29. ^ Dickie, Douglas (10 October 2012). "Housing developer given warning for dumping at Rutherglen site". Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  30. ^ "Ward map 13 - Cambuslang West" (PDF). South Lanarkshire Council. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  31. ^ "Cambuslang West". Police Service of Scotland. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  32. ^ Faith barriers broken down as pupils share school playground, The Herald, 22 September 2013
  33. ^ Rutherglen schools handed anti-sectarian honour, Daily Record, 11 September 2013
  34. ^ "About Us". Cathkin Community Nursery. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  35. ^ "About our School". Rutherglen High School. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  36. ^ The new nursery connecting two communities, South Lanarkshire View, 12 May 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021
  37. ^ "Darren Young's a City slicker after getting fan mail from Manchester". Daily Record/Rutherglen Reformer. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  38. ^ "Derek Young's spell in Iceland was a real eye-opener after their success at Euro 2016". Daily Record/Rutherglen Reformer. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
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Media related to Whitlawburn, South Lanarkshire at Wikimedia Commons

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