__NOTOC__ Blackhill () is an area of north east

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is directly bordered by the

M80 motorway The M80 is a motorway in Scotland, Scotland's central belt, running between Glasgow and Stirling via Cumbernauld and Denny, Falkirk, Denny and linking the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8, M73 motorway, M73 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. F ...

to the west and the M8 motorway to the south. The neighbourhood falls within the North East ward under

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

History

Blackhill was developed as a council housing estate in the 1930s. Most of the new development was designated ''Rehousing'', the lowest grade of council housing intended for those cleared from Glasgow's 19th century

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

s, particularly those in the

Garngad Royston/Roystonhill is a district in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It was previously known as The Garngad and is still known as such by residents that have a familial link and is still displayed in local shops and bars. It is notable for its l ...

(now Royston) area. The new buildings were three-storey, slate-roofed

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

s built of reconstituted stone. The eastern side of Blackhill, nearer to Provanmill and

Riddrie Riddrie () is a north-eastern district of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies on the A80 Cumbernauld Road. Location and amenities Riddrie is a predominantly residential area consisting of 1920s or earlier semi-detached houses (especially in the area kno ...

, was designated ''Intermediate'', a grade up from ''Rehousing'', and housing was of the cottage flat-type with front and rear gardens and a measure of landscaping in the streets ("Rehousing" areas cost £250 per house to build, while "Intermediate" areas cost £1000). The area has been historically been an area of deprivation and violence, and became notorious for ruthless crime gangs and drug dealing - however the local st.Paul’s church started a youth forum which aimed to combat these issues and create better lives and opportunities for the young people of Blackhill. Since starting up St.Paul’s has been responsible for a 96% decrease in violence within the area since 2006. MonklandCanalBlackhillLocks1

Blackhill was built on a country golf course (see Glasgow Golf Club), near the

Monkland Canal The Monkland Canal was a canal designed to bring coal from the mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. In the course of a long and difficult construction process, it was opened progressively as short sections were completed, from 177 ...

with its Blackhill Locks. Many early residents report summers of country rambles, often along the

Molendinar Burn The Molendinar Burn is a small tributary of the Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, now largely culverted. It is popularly associated with Saint Mungo, who is said to have founded his church on its banks. The name may stem from Mellingdenor, a place m ...

– now the only place this historic burn is still visible on the surface – to the

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

Hogganfield Hogganfield ( ) is a district in the Scotland, Scottish city of Glasgow, located to the north east of the city centre. Hogganfield is surrounded by the Glasgow districts of Blackhill, Glasgow, Blackhill, Craigend, Glasgow, Craigend, Millerston, ...

. There was (and is) a strong sense of neighbourliness, partly encouraged by the enclosed nature of the site, due to industry, railways and main roads cutting it off from other districts. It was, however, built close to a gasworks (

Provan Gas Works Provan Gas Works is an industrial gas holding plant in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The plant lies between the Blackhill, Glasgow, Blackhill, Blochairn, Germiston, Glasgow, Germiston and Provanmill areas of the city, and was built by Glasgow C ...

) and a distillery, which did not add to the health of the area and, perhaps for this reason, it gained a reputation for being "''difficult to let''". Much of the 1930s housing was demolished in the early 1990s with the rest of the area redeveloped in the early 21st century, with all of its remaining tenement stock demolished and replaced with Newfields, a housing development built by Mansell Homes featuring new build detached and semi-detached houses. A landscaped park was created around the

. A 2007 community survey''Blackhill View'' April '07 edition
reported residents' concerns were similar to those in other urban areas:

"''In the last issue we reported the findings of a local survey that helped to pinpoint the top 10 priority issues for your neighbourhood – things like road safety, litter and vandalism, dog fouling, dumping and youth disorder all featured strongly.''"

Notable residents

* Paul Ferris, writer and former gangster * Ian "Blink" MacDonald, former gangster * Arthur Thompson, Gangster

References

* Damer, Seán. ''Last exit to Blackhill : the stigmatization of a Glasgow housing scheme''. University of Glasgow, Centre for Housing Research, 1992 * Sparks, Ian. ''Working with a community : the Blackhill Project 1972-77'' Barkingside/Dr Barnardo's, (1978) {{Authority control Housing estates in Glasgow Areas of Glasgow

History

Notable residents

See also

References