Council considers disposal of site for development of accessible homes for over-50s

Glasgow City Council has agreed in-principle to dispose of Burnbank House to Queens Cross Housing Association (QCHA) to allow the building of 48 accessible homes for over-50s.

The 0.85acre site, on Burnbank Gardens, close to Great Western Road and Maryhill Road, was for decades a care home, and more recently a homeless hostel before being declared surplus.

The site includes the four-storey Burnbank House, adjacent land and part of a public gardens area, and sits beside two five-storey sheltered accommodation blocks to the west and east owned by (QCHA).

The proposed development would see the creation of 48 flats for social rent for elderly people that would support the move from a model of sheltered housing towards a model of clustered supported living that can support elderly people with accessibility, mobility and progressive health needs.

A QCHA survey in the local area found that around 40% of those households will be over 50 by 2031, but less than 12% of the Associations' stock is suitable for elderly people. The provision of 48 accessible homes at the Burnbank site would address this imbalance.

Negotiations on the disposal of the site will now take place between City Property and QCHA. If the disposal completes, the council will receive a capital receipt of £430,000, forgoing an estimated additional £1.38million as a contribution towards the delivery of the project.

Councillor Kenny McLean, Convener for Housing at Glasgow City Council, said: "The proposed development at the site would help to meet an identified and emerging need for such housing in this part of the city. We have worked with housing associations all across Glasgow to help build homes that improved the quality of life for their residents, and we look forward to a partnership with Queen's Cross Housing Association to bring an innovative model of housing that will do the same for the people living there."