Housing co-operatives in Glasgow: The community ownership programme

Public sector housing is important. Its particular importance in Glasgow derives from the fact that over 57% of households in the City are Local Authority tenants. This thesis examines a new project being set up by Glasgow District Council in three high stress areas of its housing stock. The project, called the Community Ownership Programme, is the first of its kind in Scotland. It involves the formation of par-value housing co-operatives by the tenants, who will purchase their houses collectively from the Council and subsequently manage them along co-operative lines. The study begins with a brief chapter establishing the general context of the public sector in Britain, touching briefly on housing policies at a national level. Against this background. Chapter 2 examines the problems of difficult-to-let estates, their characterising factors and some fundamental causes. It then goes on to discuss some significant reports in this field and the remedial action they suggest. Finally some conclusions are drawn about future policies. Chapter 3 brings this discussion down to the local context. The twofold nature of Glasgow's housing problem is described, setting the scene for the next chapter. Against this framework. Chapter 4 examines the influences actually brought to bear in shaping the Community Ownership Programme, focussing particularly on the way in which the District Council have drawn on the resources and experience available to develop a new model to improve public sector housing. In Chapter 5, this model is discussed in detail. Par-value cooperatives are described, as are the three main factors involved - the tenants, the dwellings and finance. Finally the legal and financial procedures of establishing a co-operative are examined. Three detailed case studies are then presented in Chapter 6. In each of these, a preliminary sketch is given of the background, followed by a narrative account of the development of the co-operative and the proposed improvements. In Chapter 7 an attempt is made to tackle the difficult question of evaluation. Chapter 8 brings together and reviews some of the findings of the case studies in relation to the future development of the co-operatives. The analysis focusses particularly on two variables which are critical to the expansion of the project, namely community action capacity and continued political feasibility. This is followed by some concluding remarks