Community campaigners want a housing developer to stop demolition of a south side building until public consultation has taken place.
Developers Sanctuary Homes bought the former Victoria Infirmary site from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde while pledging to work closely with the local community.
However, consultation does not begin until January next year – and demolition works have already begun at the site.
As told in the Evening Times, Sanctuary has said plans will involve keeping the listed administration building along with key heritage features including Battlefield Road’s Nightingale wings and the gatehouse off Langside Road.
But Mount Florida Community Council and Langside, Battlefield and Camphill Community Council claim this is not enough.
Evelyn Silber, chairwoman of chairwoman of Langside, Battlefield and Camphill Community Council (LBCCC), said: “We feel it is very nice they say they are going to retain the Nightingale wards but there are some other interesting buildings on site and we have no idea if they are among plans for demolition.
“We were told consistently that the Victoria Infirmary site is designated a masterplan site but there seems that now there will be no masterplan for the area.”
The original Sanctuary Housing bid was for 347 new properties but more recently the social housing provider has said 400 new homes.
With the Sanctuary Group development, CALA Homes properties to be built on the site of the former Mansionhouse Unit and flats proposed to be built at Spein Street, Langside and Battlefield is to accommodate around 700 new homes.
Ms Silber added: “There are understandable concerns about how the local infrastructure will cope with these new properties, hence the need for a masterplan.”
As told in Tuesday’s Evening Times, Sanctuary Group has appointed Glasgow-based Collective Architecture to produce draft proposals for the first phase of community consultation, due to start at the end of January.
Ms Silber said the community councils are “very happy” about the appointment of Collective Architecture.
She added: “We have no issue with Collective Architecture and I will say that Sanctuary Homes have been very good at communicating with us so far but we do feel that demolition should go no further until the community consultation has been completed.”
Peter Martin, Sanctuary’s Group Director of Development, said: “Our preparation of the Victoria Infirmary site began in August and will take up to 12 months.
“This complex process includes the survey and removal of asbestos and other hazardous materials from the site, the clearance of dilapidated buildings and the careful removal of ancillary buildings surrounding the Nightingale wings.
“We do not believe this preparatory work will affect our extensive planned community consultation.
“Sanctuary inherited permission to clear the whole site apart from the listed administration building.
“We have listened to the local community throughout the bids process and on the basis of their feedback are retaining the gatehouse and Nightingale wings, which we all agree are historically important features of Glasgow’s south side.
Article originally published by Evening Times
