COUNCIL bosses have won a battle to buy a pigeon-infested Govanhill flat that was once a cannabis farm. 

The tenement flat has been closed off by the council since 2015 but in 2019, police reported cannabis growing in the address at flat 3/1 178 Allison Street.

And council officers were concerned to find a “vulnerable family” with a young child “living” there later in the year without electricity and gas.

A council officer who visited the property said in a planning hearing: “As a result of the conditions of the flat I had safety concerns for the family especially as there was a young child living there.”

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The family who spoke Romanian said they “had paid someone £500” and “there were beds and a wardrobe in the property” according to another official. 

The officer added: “The owner explained in an email that he had not let the flat out and the family had been given the keys only to paint the property.”

The family were moved out after an eviction notice was served. 

Afterwards, the council installed a steel gate to stop people from entering. It also had to step in to deal with problems with pigeon droppings and insects affecting neighbouring homes in 2021.

The local authority now wants to carry out a compulsory purchase order on the property to “remove the threat and blight of a derelict flat in the tenement".

There are plans to make it available for social housing. Landlord Govanhill Ltd had objected to the bid – saying it “proposes a comprehensive internal refurbishment of the whole property".

But a Scottish Government reporter has backed the council’s decision saying the buy-out can go ahead.

The council said in a statement to the Scottish Government planning appeals division: “The property has an eight-year history of uninhabitable conditions that have deteriorated due to a failure to renovate and maintain it."

The statement also pointed out that the property “has been used for anti-social and criminal activity”.

A statement lodged on behalf of owners Govanhill Ltd said the compulsory purchase “is unnecessary, or at least premature” and the landlord “is in a position to carry out the works necessary to bring the property back into use".

The statement also claimed there was a conflict of interest as the council gave “itself full control over all access to the property, including access by the property owner" and promoted the “present compulsory purchase order on the basis of the alleged failure by the owner to complete works to the property when full and free access is required to do so".

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The Scottish Government has been considering the compulsory purchase order application and Govanhill Ltd’s objection.

A Scottish Government reporter held a virtual hearing and carried out a site visit.  Backing up the council’s decision, the reporter decided the order is “reasonable, appropriate, necessary and proportionate”.

The reporter's decision said: “Contrary to the argument of the objector, this is a property where public acquisition is in my view appropriate and is the only practical way in which it can, with adequate assurance, be restored to full and normal residential use".

Scottish Ministers recommended the compulsory purchase order be confirmed.