Dalmarnock Village was built as part of the ‘legacy’ of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games — a symbol of regeneration and investment in the East End. But just over a decade later, many residents are asking: What is the true legacy for Glasgow — safe and secure homes, or mould and neglect?
Residents of Glasgow’s Dalmarnock Village, a mixture of social housing tenants and owner occupiers, are experiencing serious and ongoing issues with the quality of their housing. Some of the issues reported include recurring and extensive black mould; dampness; sewage entering the household; and extremely poor quality plumbing. Many residents have reached out to Bridgeton CAB for advice with how to handle these issues, and more: the faults are so extensive that some residents have had their home insurance coverage denied. These same residents have also informed Bridgeton CAB about accompanying respiratory problems that have developed or intensified as a result of these issues among their families and themselves since they have moved into Dalmarnock Village — likely a result of the pervasive black mould.
Three housing associations (Wheatley Group; West of Scotland Housing Association; and Thenue Housing Association) operate within the Village, with green spaces designated as areas of shared responsibility. Residents have attempted to raise these issues to the relevant housing associations, however — despite multiple grievances being raised — their concerns have been largely ignored, and the associations have instead attempted to blame the victims by individualising the complaints to the residents themselves, trying to deflect from the reality of the situation: an ongoing community-wide scandal of neglect and poor quality housing.
The purpose of the Dalmarnock Village Housing Campaign is to investigate and evidence the extent of housing issues, as well as advocate for meaningful structural change regarding the maintenance of housing in the Village. The campaign will challenge the individualised rhetoric used to ignore ongoing issues by presenting them as a collective structural problem instead, a problem that requires a community-wide solution. Both the research and advocacy work of the campaign will be conducted in partnership with the community, with co-designed campaign resources and co-coordinated lobbying activity. Campaign oversight will be facilitated by a Residents’ Coordinating Group (co-chaired by a member of the community and the Glasgow Social Policy Officer) which will be established at the outset of the campaign.