Communities Minister Des McNulty was put on the spot by Lyn Ewing, Chairperson of Govanhill Housing Association when he officially opened their £4 million new headquarters building in the former Royal Samaritan Hospital.
In her speech of welcome, the doughty Chairperson challenged the Minister: ‘Please listen to what we are saying. There are 500 tenements in Govanhill below tolerable standard. The flats are appalling. The current grant system is not working. In our view it will be 30 years before anything will happen. I ask you to address this at the highest political level.’

Undaunted she continued: ‘The Secondary Stage Transfer has to get going. Promises have been made at senior Ministerial level but something must be done to break the logjam. Officially this Housing Association is not allowed to speak to tenants about second stage transfer until a price has been agreed and before the ballot takes place. But we are up against a brick wall in our talks with Glasgow Housing Association and Glasgow City Council.’

And she didn’t stop there: ‘Major repair funding for pre 1919 tenements - promised many, many years ago - has still not been put in place.’

In his response before he announced the beautifully renewed buildings formally open, he referred to himself as ‘the coconut shy’.

He praised Govanhill Housing Association as ‘the best in Glasgow’ and highlighted the commitment of the volunteers, such as Lyn, who make up the management committee.

 When he served on Glasgow City Council, he reflected that during the 1999 Festival or Architecture and Design, it was shown how successfully buildings of architectural merit could be used for other useful purposes while retaining the structure which was important local heritage. ‘This project at the former Royal Samaritan Hospital, shows that such transformations are not confined to Glasgow City Centre. While respecting the integrity of the building on the outside, the inside has been transformed into modern standards. It is to the credit of Govanhill Housing Association that they have been entrepreneurial and obtained a cocktail of funding to achieve this.’

Following the opening ceremony the Minister told the LOCAL NEWS, ‘We are in regular dialogue with Govanhill Housing Association. Stock Transfer is not practical before the election in May and we are moving as quickly as we can on the houses below tolerable standard.’

The Minister was joined by former nurses and employees at the B-listed hospital. They turned up to see how their former workplace has changed.

The Samaritan Hospital for Women was opened in 1894 and extended as late as 1931. The final phase of the transformation of the B listed buildings now houses the headquarters of Govanhill Housing Association, Langside College’s Community Campus and energy company Sgurr Energy.

The building also has a community and conference hall and commercial workspaces available to businesses.
Lyn commented, ‘This has been an exciting project for the Govanhill area and I’m positive that local people will benefit immensely from this regeneration. The former Royal Samaritan Hospital has been completely transformed and all businesses involved are settling in well to their new locations. The Langside College Community Campus is proving very popular. There are also opportunities for jobs to be brought to the area with accommodation for commercial workspaces at the site. We want the best for the people of the local area and we believe that this investment and development can only go on to advance this community.’

Graeme Hislop, Principal of Langside College said the new campus was an excellent way for the College to celebrate 60 years. He referred to the Housing Association as a ‘valued partner’. As chair of Govanhill Community Conference, he added, ‘This is a very vocal community. If you don’t do what you say you’ll do, they don’t let you forget! That’s a hint to Des McNulty to make sure he gives Lyn answers!’

At another point in the opening ceremony, Alistair Wylie, Managing Director of Campbell Construction Group (CCG) whose company carried out the transformation of the hospital complex said, ‘This project has enabled us to take on 60 craft apprentices and employ 500 people directly. It has been a major design project and has required great economic and social investment in this community. But it has brought this company recognition by the Saltire Society and other professional bodies. We are proud of what has been achieved and thank Govanhill Housing Association for having the confidence and faith in us to do the job. We simply hope they will continue to give us new opportunities.’

At the time of going to press Des McNulty had not responded to Lyn Ewing’s appeal.