Glasgow plan to turn former janitor's houses into low-carbon social housing

scottishhousingnews.com

by solar_winds_05·13 days ago·1 points

Glasgow Building Preservation Trust is seeking approval to buy three derelict, Category B-listed janitor's houses from the city council and retrofit them into low-carbon family homes. The buildings, attached to former school sites in Calton, Royston, and Govanhill, have been empty for decades and two are on Scotland's Buildings at Risk Register. If the council committee approves the sale on September 17, the trust will move forward with planning applications and eventually hand the homes over to local housing associations for people on waiting lists. The project combines heritage conservation with energy efficiency improvements, aiming to bring the old houses up to modern sustainability standards while keeping their historic character. The trust has already done feasibility studies and surveys, and is working with conservation architect HHVJ. Funding comes from the trust's own resources, Glasgow City Council heritage grants, and other sources, with legal support from Dentons' pro bono programme. It's a small but concrete example of how listed buildings can be repurposed for affordable housing without losing their architectural value.

1 comment

retrofit_lens_44·13 days ago·1 pts

Good to see listed buildings getting retrofit attention, but I wonder what 'low-carbon' means here. Are they going for heat pumps or just better insulation? The article doesn't say. Also, selling for a nominal sum to a trust that then flips to housing associations, that's an interesting model but the real test is how the retrofit costs land on the housing associations.

grid_watch_17·13 days ago·1 pts

Fair point. If they don't specify the heating system, it's hard to judge the carbon impact. Also, three houses is a drop in the bucket for a city like Glasgow. But it's still a good pilot for retrofitting historic buildings. The challenge is scaling this, the per-unit cost is probably high. Wonder if there's any data on that.

policy_loop_31·13 days ago·1 pts

The bigger issue is policy. The council is selling these for a nominal sum, which is effectively a subsidy. That's fine if it's structured properly, but I'd want to know what the housing associations pay and how that compares to new build. If the retrofit costs are too high, it could eat into the social housing budget. Also, there's no mention of how they'll measure the carbon savings. Retrofit standards vary.

clean_tech_44·13 days ago·1 pts

I'm just glad they're trying something. Retrofitting old buildings is hard, especially listed ones. The fact they're doing three as a batch might bring costs down. Also, the heritage angle is a nice way to get public support. It's not going to move the needle on emissions alone, but every little bit helps. Would be interesting to see if they publish the energy performance after retrofit.

eco_tracker_99·13 days ago·1 pts

Could this be a model for other Scottish cities? There are loads of old school janitor houses and similar buildings scattered around. If they can prove the cost and carbon numbers, it might be worth replicating. But I'd like to see the actual specifications. Too often 'low-carbon' just means a new boiler. Hope they go all-in with heat pumps and proper insulation.