Glasgow pensioners' anger as communal balcony under threat

Residents of a building in Anniesland received a letter instructing them to clear the outdoor space by Wednesday morning.

Since moving in eight years ago, they have made this space welcoming with flowers and furniture and used it to benefit their mental and physical health.

They are crushed that the terrace will be taken away from them and outraged at the short notice and lack of information provided by their housing association.

Residents at the balcony (Image: Colin Templeton)

Maureen McCafferty, 66, said: "We come out there because we live in a flat, so it's like a community garden at the top.

"We put money in every year, and when it comes to summertime, we buy all this stuff, it's beautiful.

"There are about six or seven of us and we put in £10 to £20 every month.

"By summer, we have around £200 to £300 to buy the planters and chairs.

"And now, we have been notified that it's getting shut down. 

"They told us that everything should be moved by tomorrow.

"We have nowhere to put them."

In addition to the bad news, the woman claims they were never given a proper reason for the sudden change.

Maureen McCaffery in front of her building (Image: Colin Templeton)

The Anniesland building (Image: Colin Templeton)

The notice from Sanctuary Housing quoted health and safety as a reason but, according to the pensioner, staff refused to give out any more information and were rude when confronted by the group.

She said: "They have given us no explanation, it's just to be shut down.

"There has never been anything said about this before, and that is all we got from them.

"Trying to deal with them is absolutely awful.

"That was one of the reasons why we all took the houses because we were thinking, 'this is great' because we've got this massive balcony on the top floor."

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Feeling helpless, some of Maureen's neighbours created signs in protest and placed them on the railings to draw attention to what they say is an injustice.

They read "save our garden".

After the arrival of the letter, the residents did not move the items indoors as per the instructions.

All aged 60 to 70, they explained they would be unable to carry them.

She added: "We are very upset, we are very angry.

"For the last two months now, every day we have been working for different wee bits so that it's lovely.

"When my family comes up, they come up here and it feels like we are in Spain because it is that nice.

"We are saying that this just cannot happen. We are very up in arms about it."

In an effort to stop the closure, she reached out to Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, who wrote to the director of Sanctuary Housing Scotland.

Tenants with their sign, saying save our garden (Image: Colin Templeton)

He said: "We’re aware of the plight of the tenants in the lack of consultation and the very short notice of this demand by Sanctuary Housing for them to cease using the communal roof garden.

"We can all appreciate that the residents are of a certain age where they may not be capable of removing planters and furniture within one day of notice.

"Besides which, this area is a godsend for socialising, particularly following the isolation during the pandemic.

"I would hope that Sanctuary has a rethink of what seems to be the callous treatment of these residents."

A letter, dated July 4, was seen by the Glasgow Times. In it, the landlord asked tenants to clear the balcony "today".

As of the publishing of this story, the balcony is still accessible, contrary to the warning, and workers have not been out to the building but residents say they are on the edge, anticipating it to happen.

A spokesperson for Sanctuary Housing said: “Following a recent inspection of the balcony, our contractor identified some repairs that need to be made to ensure its safety.

"The health and safety of residents is our priority so we have contacted them all to notify them of the issue and advise the balcony will be closed while repairs take place.”